It is a structure of the olden time,

Built to endure, not dazzle for a day;

A stain is on the venerable roof,

Telling of conflict with the King of Storms,

And clings to casement-worn, and hanging eaves,

With thread-like roots, the moss.

Grey shutters swing

On rusted hinges, but the beams of day

Dart with a softening radiance through the bars.

Colossal domes of chiseled marble made,