Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79. | | | | Florence | | The Old Bridge at Florence | | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–1882) |
| | | TADDEO GADDI built me. I am old, | |
| Five centuries old. I plant my foot of stone | |
| Upon the Arno, as St. Michael’s own | |
| Was planted on the dragon. Fold by fold | |
| Beneath me as it struggles, I behold | 5 |
| Its glistening scales. Twice hath it overthrown | |
| My kindred and companions. Me alone | |
| It moveth not, but is by me controlled. | |
| I can remember when the Medici | |
| Were driven from Florence; longer still ago | 10 |
| The final wars of Ghibelline and Guelf. | |
| Florence adorns me with her jewelry; | |
| And when I think that Michael Angelo | |
| Hath leaned on me, I glory in myself. | | | | |
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