The charm of Venice

by Unknown

GABRIELE D’ANNUNZIO.

FROM A VENETIAN BALCONY

High-tide at Venice; warm wind driving in from the sea.

Hark! the cry of the gulls as they flit o’er the wide canal,

Flit and circle and skim, and dip in their savage glee,

Striking the lead-coloured waves that scatter tempestual,

Striking with sharp white wing like a flail, gorging their prey:

Frutto di mare, fruit of the ocean, drift of the way.

Hither and thither wend other wild birds in the storm—

Gondolas black as the swift that floats o’er an autumn sky—