FESTA DEL REDENTORE IN VENICE

Deep blue water, Like a dark sapphire; A thousand swinging lanterns Reflected in its depths, And hung from gondolas Whose blackness makes them forever True comrades of the night. Fireworks with spark and light; Dripping from the skies, Like thirsty stars Bending to cool their lips On Venetian waters. Near by and far The echo of a carefree laugh, The plaintive voices of violins, And clear songs of living men; While deep in the shadows Of beauty and old palaces, Crouch the ghosts of tears and crime, And men long centuries dead.