A few in fear
Flying away from him, whose boast it was
That the grass grew not where his horse had trod,
Gave birth to Venice. Like the water fowl, They
built their nests above the ocean waves; And
where the sands were shifting, as the wind Blew
from the north or south - where they that came
Had to make sure the ground they stood upon,
Rose, like an exhalation from the deep, A vast
metropolis, with glistening spires, With theatres,
basilicas adorned; A scene of light and glory, a
dominion, That has endured the longest among
men.

Samuel Rogers