ROME IS...

Rome is a long walk on Tiber riverbank

Weary shoes, sweaty boots, and hurry foots
(Autumn sun never let us forget the patio
The pilgrimage has just yet began)

Rome is tire screeching on Circus Maximus crossroads

Men yell to each other, yet, they come to a same
trattorias together
(Just forget the Bocca-Della-Verita, Signora
The ultimate truth indeed, lies in your deepest heart)

Rome is cheerful laughter of nuns

Marking an anticipated birthday of their beloved
Superior
(The simple and true happiness is indeed
The deepest form of a gratitude)

Rome is a rosa mystica rosary

Swinging uneasy in the hand of an old man under the
shadow of St. Angelo
(Is the demon real? They ask.
Yes. As real as your sins!)

Rome is vesperae bells echoing divinity

While many people in bar begin to practice insanity
(Wine, music, and women
Are all saints also getting drunk?)

Rome is a stop for a drink from a fontanelle

The water of life, the wisdom of our soul.
(Evening wind blows around the pillars
Gliding over the square, and touching gently St. John's hand)

Rome is a sip of puffy expresso

A little heaven before darkness turns into a show
(All roads lead to Rome, they say
Then Lord, why are we still losing our way?)

Rome is, and always, a mixed feeling

Between admiration, excitement, anger and confusion
(A dove is wandering between footsteps on a marble hall
Without any doubt and fear at all)

Rome is thousands of stone figures

Standing imperiously, watching us on every corner
(I wonder if there is a hiding place
To avoid Thou fairest judgment?)

And Rome is two souls sheltering beneath angels' wings

With a simple prayer, the one they could bring
(And, God, do we still need a definition of peace?)

777

(OCTOBER2014,EkoNugroho)