The speaker of “Rome” longs to be back in the city, calling up three fleeting images: the moon rising over the rooftops, swallows circling a darkened dome at dusk, and the calm, measured arrival of dawn. The repeated exclamation “Oh for” gives the poem an almost prayer-like, wistful tone — these are not just memories but things she aches to experience again. The phrase “measured dawns / That pass with folded wings” makes morning feel gentle, quiet, and almost holy. In the final two lines, that longing turns inward. She asks herself how she can let such beautiful moments go, lumped together with “unremembered things.” The poem creates a mood of tender regret — a fear that beauty, if not held onto, slips away into forgetfulness.
Rome — Summary
Oh for the rising moon Over the roofs of Rome, And swallows in the dusk Circling a darkened dome!
Oh for the measured dawns That pass with folded wings-- How can I let them go With unremembered things?