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.