Let’s talk Goldoni. Long after he had left his birth-
Place, as a bitter old man in exile, he wrote
His life story. Knowing well the worth
Of a land he had lost, all he could do was dote
On it. “This city is like nothing on earth;
Every time that I saw it again” — and I quote —
“Was a new surprise to me.” Today, too,
These interlocking labyrinths of canal and street
Can leave us mute. Humbled by loveliness, who
Does not shamble, or walk with leaden feet,
Gawping lugubriously? But better to do
Justice to this beauty, we should leap to greet
La Serenissima in Carlo’s tongue:
A liquid language, not so much spoken, as sung.
Place, as a bitter old man in exile, he wrote
His life story. Knowing well the worth
Of a land he had lost, all he could do was dote
On it. “This city is like nothing on earth;
Every time that I saw it again” — and I quote —
“Was a new surprise to me.” Today, too,
These interlocking labyrinths of canal and street
Can leave us mute. Humbled by loveliness, who
Does not shamble, or walk with leaden feet,
Gawping lugubriously? But better to do
Justice to this beauty, we should leap to greet
La Serenissima in Carlo’s tongue:
A liquid language, not so much spoken, as sung.
(1992)
