Excerpt from Taormina, and Other Poems Taormina. We stood on Taormina's topmost height, In the resplendent air, the sea below Gleamed to the farthest west, and opposite Old Etna leaned against the southern sky; His feet upon the shore, with forest belt, Broad shoulder swathed in snow, the giant lay Majestic, motionless, and we beheld Our life-long dream's fulfilment; but his crest Grey vapours shadowed, mingling with the smoke Breathed from his fiery torment through all time. Then one said, "Soon the morning mist will rise, I wait for the unveiling, be it till noon; Having come so far it were a grief and shame To turn, the best unseen." We had performed Our traveller-duty, amid the ruins marked Proscenium, vomitories, arch and niche, The Roman's brick-work, and diviner touch Of ancient Greek - all that the garrulous guide About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.