Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Italy: Vols. XI–XIII. 1876–79.

Ostia

Ostia

By Virgil (70–19 B.C.)

(From Æneid)
Translated by C. P. Cranch

THE SEA was flushing in the morning’s rays,

And from the ethereal heights Aurora’s car

With rose and saffron gleamed; when suddenly

The winds were stilled, and every breath of air,

And the oars struggled through the sluggish sea.

And here Æneas from the deep descries

A spacious grove. Through this the Tiber pours

His smiling waves along, with rapid whirls,

And yellow sand, and bursts into the sea.

And all around and overhead were birds

Of various hues, accustomed to the banks

And river-bed; from tree to tree they flew,

Soothing the air with songs. Then to the land

He bids the crews direct the vessels’ prows,

And joyfully the shadowy river gains.