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.