IN ROME

Daybreak. The heavy rumble in the street Of waggons, journeyed from the sun-baked plains; A laugh, an oath, as chance acquaintance meet; The bark of dogs, the crack of whip and reins; And then, with booming of combined refrains, The ringing, swinging, singing bells of Rome. Sunset, and purple shadows o'er the dome Of sky above St Peter's; and the square As silent as a graveyard, and as dumb. Within the church, a peasant deep in prayer; And like a challenge through the languid air The ringing, swinging, singing bells of Rome.