Emanuel Carnevali

From “The Day of Summer”

TENDER and young again, feminine, sky of the evening of summer is blushing.

Round, long and soft like a draped arm, sky of the evening over the poor city resting.

Spaces of cool blue are musing—

They will hold all our sadness, O spaces of cool blue.

O city, there lived in you once, O Manhattan, a man WALT WHITMAN.

Our hands are wasted already, perhaps; but enough for contribution to Beauty,

Enough for a great sadness, will be,

Evening of summer, evening of summer going to sleep

Over the purple bed, over the light flowers of the sunset.

Many other evenings have I in my heart—I have loved so much, so long and so well—don’t you remember cool blue spaces brooding?

I shall recall you,

I shall recall you if insanity comes and sits down and puts her hands in my hair.

Once I touched things with religion, once a girl loved me, once I used to go hiking with young folks over the Palisades,

Once I cried worthily.