Complete Poetical Works

At the Hacienda

Bret Harte


KNOW I not whom thou mayst be
    Carved upon this olive-tree,—
        “Manuela of La Torre,”—
For around on broken walls
Summer sun and spring rain falls,
And in vain the low wind calls
        “Manuela of La Torre.”

Of that song no words remain
    But the musical refrain,—
        “Manuela of La Torre.”
Yet at night, when winds are still,
Tinkles on the distant hill
A guitar, and words that thrill
    Tell to me the old, old story,—
Old when first thy charms were sung,
Old when these old walls were young,
        “Manuela of La Torre.”


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