Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VENICE by FRIEDRICH WILHELM NIETZSCHE

First Line: LONE ON THE RIVA I STOOD
Last Line: HAD I A LISTENER, TOO?
Subject(s): VENICE, ITALY;
LONE on the Riva I stood
Shrouded in dusky night.
Far-off melody floated,
Welling in golden drops,
Over the quivering waters.
Gondola, palace and tower
Drunkenly swam in the luminous dark.

Then the mystical strings
Of my spirit, invisibly touched,
Trembling with secret delight,
Sang to the barcarole's time.—
Had I a listener, too?



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