MEANWHILE BACK IN VERONA

you ******* kisses
from Juliet's balcony as if
you were the real thing

suddenly we are
Shakespearean
& the play's the thing

'Oh Donall Donall...
...wherefore art thou
... Donall! '

I kneel before
Juliette's statue
her left breast

all shiny
rubbed for luck
by touchy touristy

hands and loud guffaws
here in Verona amongst
its ancient amphitheatre

and so I sing
mock opera
and 'La Traviata.'

'Come...do the Christian thing
& throw me to your *****! '
you run

your laughter echoing
amongst ruins
and long gone times

that summer
(there in Verona)
Juliet & Traviata

were real
and alive
yet it is we now

who have become
fictional characters
our love now

only a story
a thing
of mere memory

'Oh Anu...Anu...
wherefore art thou
...Anu! '