William Wordsworth

On the Extinction of the Venetian Republic, 1802

ONCE did she hold the gorgeous East in fee;
    And was the safeguard of the West: the worth
    Of Venice did not fall below her birth,
Venice, the eldest Child of Liberty.
She was a maiden City, bright and free;
    No guile seduced, no force could violate;
    And, when she took unto herself a mate,
She must espouse the everlasting Sea.
And what if she had seen those glories fade,
    Those titles vanish, and that strength decay;
Yet shall some tribute of regret be paid
    When her long life hath reach’d its final day:
Men are we, and must grieve when even the Shade
    Of that which once was great is pass’d away.