On the Easter Illumination of St. Peter's at Rome

Four thousand lamps of gold and silver light
Suspended round the mighty dome, and o er
Those rows of statues at their awful height,
And thence even to the ground, together pour
A blaze that might seem reft from Etna's core!
Bringing at once-lit suddenly-on the sight
The whole vast structure out of the black night-
Towers, columns, windows, with their carven lore!
The spectacle is grand! But can it call
Deliverance unto those that pine and bleed
Under the Austrian's vandalic thrall?
Never! One thought of fire-one luminous deed
Evoked by Garibaldi's patriot creed,
O sundered Italy! Transcends it all!