The mirthful gods who ruled o'er Greater Greece <br />Created this fair land in some high mood <br />Of frolic joy; the smiling heavens brood <br />Over a scene soft-whelmed in jocund peace. <br />Gay clamors, odorous breathings never cease <br />From basking crag, lime grove, and olive wood; <br />Swart fishers sing from out the sparkling flood <br />Where once the syrens sang in luring ease. <br />The curved beach swarms with brown-skinned boys and girls <br />Dancing the tarantella on the sands, <br />Their limbs dive with music's jollity; <br />And ever, where the warm wave leaps and swirls <br />With glad embrace clasping the bowery lands, <br />Breaks the tumultuous laughter of the sea.<br /><br />John Hay<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/sorrento/
