Walking The Streets Of Roma
(June 13, 2010~ Roma, Italia)
I feel this stone under
My feet and I think
I feel the thousand years
Gone by tickling the bottoms
Of my shoes
Up and down the
Stone-laden streets
My shoes are not used to this
Nor are my feet
Mini-palaces painted with
Pastel cherubims
Angels bump their shoulders
They share each others’ skin
Basilica bells chime
And old priests nod and smile
At me
I breathe in the air
That Caesar, Da Vinci, Leonardo, Michelangelo
And about a hundred
Great popes breathed
Ancient history fills my lungs
I exhale ancient art
Ancient thoughts
Timeless souls
The yellow flowers climb on walls
The man sits with his Afghan Hound
Lovers loiter the air I breathe
With their kisses
And sighs of amore!
I feel the stones
From beneath my shoes
They go “bump-bump” on the
Bottoms of my feet
Stones placed by makers of
Ancient art and
Ancient love and
Thousands of years of
History
Porcelain dolls
In flower-lines windows
Wooden Pinocchios
Carvings of fat women
And white-winged horses
Call me as I walk by
I hear someone making love
From a window in a
Gelateria
Could I ever ask for more in life
Than walking the streets of Roma?
©2010 C. JoyBell C. All rights reserved.