The Invitation to the Gondola

Come forth; for Night is falling,

The moon hangs round and red

On the verge of the violet waters,

Fronting the daylight dead.

Come forth; the liquid spaces

Of sea and sky are one,

Where outspread angel flame-wings

Brood o'er the buried sun.

Bells call to bells from the islands,

And far-off mountains rear

Their shadowy crests in the crystal

Of cloudless atmosphere.

A breeze from the sea is wafted;

Lamp-litten Venice gleams

With her towers and domes uplifted

Like a city seen in dreams.

Her waterways are a tremble

With melody far and wide,

Borne from the phantom galleys

That o'er the drakness glide.

There are stars in the heaven, and starry

Are the wandering lights below;

Come forth! for the Night is calling,

Sea, city, and sky are aglow!