Stornelli and Strambotti
i.
Flower of the vine!
I scarcely knew or saw how love began;
So mean a flower brings forth the sweetest wine!
*****
O mandolines that thrill the moonlit street,
O lemon flowers so faint and freshly blown,
O seas that lap a solemn music sweet
Through all the pallid night against the stone,
O lovers tramping past with happy feet,
O heart that hast a memory of thine own—
For Mercy's sake no more, no more repeat
The word it is so hard to hear alone!
*****
Flowers in the hay!
My heart and all the fields are full of flowers
So tall they grow before the mowing-day.
ii.
Rose in the rain!
We part; I dare not look upon your tears:
So frail, so white, they shatter and they stain.
*****
25
