Look at this Moor,
with his dolphin
held like a bagpipe
splitting with water,
while beside him
tourists stack three deep
grabbing at their beer,
pretending to ponder
the veiled Nile,
while their eyes slant
towards the open seats
at the cafe and the Aperol
that issues so freely
you'd think Neptune
was pouring it out, too.
The sun is wincing citrus
above the high windows
that overlook the plaza,
laughter cresting above
the tourist scrum, and
children scream with gelato
strung between their fingers.
People like to be close
to history, but not too close.
If the old stones spit water
pleasantly, so much the better.
Browse the pamphlet,
tell the wife it's Bernini,
not knowing that Bernini
once paid a servant
to take a razor to the face
of his mistress because
she slept with his brother,
because history's scrawled
as much in blood as in marble,
and the colossal Pantheons
of the world are easier
understood with a dizzy
laugh and eyes shining
with afternoon wine.
Oct 4, 2019
Oct 4, 2019 at 10:03 AM UTC
Look at this Moor,
with his dolphin
held like a bagpipe
splitting with water,
while beside him
tourists stack three deep
grabbing at their beer,
pretending to ponder
the veiled Nile,
while their eyes slant
towards the open seats
at the cafe and the Aperol
that issues so freely
you'd think Neptune
was pouring it out, too.
The sun is wincing citrus
above the high windows
that overlook the plaza,
laughter cresting above
the tourist scrum, and
children scream with gelato
strung between their fingers.
People like to be close
to history, but not too close.
If the old stones spit water
pleasantly, so much the better.
Browse the pamphlet,
tell the wife it's Bernini,
not knowing that Bernini
once paid a servant
to take a razor to the face
of his mistress because
she slept with his brother,
because history's scrawled
as much in blood as in marble,
and the colossal Pantheons
of the world are easier
understood with a dizzy
laugh and eyes shining
with afternoon wine.
