SUMMER STILLNESS

The stars are golden instants in the deep

Flawless expanse of night: the moon is set:

The river sleeps, entranced, a smooth cool sleep

Seeming so motionless that I forget

The hollow booming bridges, where it slides,

Dark with the sad looks that it bears along,

Towards a sea whose unreturning tides

Ravish the sighted ships and the sailors’ song.