Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Rome Arrival


Late evening
and we arrive at the Colosseum Metro
to the applause of thunder and heavy rain
But as luck would have it
an umbrella salesman is at hand
to sell us an umbrella

We wake to sunshine
And the knock of hammer
and cold chisel on old stone
Through our fourth floor window
We glimpse the Forum
I doubt if they’ll finish repairing the lift
before the end of our stay

13 comments:

Roger Stevens said...

Had a great time in Rome. Lots of ruins, mind. Lots of poems and doodlings in my notebook.

Meanwhile we are having a heavy snowfall today. I was supposed to be visiting a school in London but the trains on our line have all been cancelled.
I'm at a local school for tomorrow's World Book Day visit. The children were sent home early today - so it might not be on. If that's the case I'll stay at home and read a book.

I wonder what you'll be doing on World Book Day?

amiethinggoes said...

welcome back roger! glad you had fun in rome! speaking of book...remember that challenge you left in my blog? did u receive d e-mail i sent on your way? :)

Ostrich said...

Hey Roger, Sounds like a great trip. Not having very good days myself. Enjoyed your new work... as usual

-bubwit said...

hei ther!

im not a poet..but i write poems if i feel like it,i liked ur place..didnt read it all hop iwil in the future..
il link u in my Lake..

:)

Wastedpapiers said...

Ah there you are!
We had some snow yesterday too but it soon melted. The builder was about finished with the base of the greenhouse and did an extra cash job for us (repairing the gable end )which took him about 10 minutes! No wonder he rides round in a big fancy truck!
He also took away the last remaining piece of shed which he'd left for some reason, maybe because it concealed some dried tentacles of russian vine which sprang out when he lifted the corrogated sheet away!
He left the bits on the other wall which I had to remove with a claw hammer. hazel was annoyed- "He should have done that!" I also painted the white bricks with tile coloured floor paint. Not sure if its suitable for exterior use but it makes the bricks blend in better and it seemed a shame to waste it.

Skrambled Egghead Reborn said...

Welcome back Roger. Snow in London? That's pretty rare, isn't it? I spent the winter (and part of the spring) there in 1998, and I don't remember there ever being more than a dusting.

I look forward to reading more Rome-inspired poetry.

Stan said...

I would welcome you back too Roger, but it hardly seems possible since I'm further away than you were in Rome! Is there a poem in that somewhere?

This is one of those poems you have to read a couple times. There's more in it than meets the eye. I liked the way the cold chisel seemed to be working on the Forum, but then turned into a rickety elevator in modern times, andhow the lowly umbrella salesman saves you at the Colosseum, after that wonderful line of the applause of the thunder and heavy rain. Beautiful little poem.

Roger Stevens said...

Thanks Stan.

Been back a week now. Snowed in last week.

Unlike in Canada - a dusting of snow and the railways stop working.

Wastedpapiers said...

Nasty stuff that snow.
It makes all the trains go
Very slow
Bungs up every nook and granny
Not very handy for Dad
Who felt bad when he fell hard
And bashed his toe on a bollard
You should have heard him go -

"@$%&*!" and "+?~@£*!"

Roger Stevens said...

Did you mean nook and granny? Cos if you meant cranny - that would give you an opportunity to use granny in a following line.

Just a thought.

Roger Stevens said...

Did you mean nook and granny? Cos if you meant cranny - that would give you an opportunity to use granny in a following line.

Just a thought.

Roger Stevens said...

ooo-er

That's the first time I've used the < a > symbol. I thought it was a straightford underline - but obviously not.

And I accidently put the comment on twice!

Hay ho.

Wastedpapiers said...

I was just trying to be clever, but I always end up feeling rather stupid, probably because i am rather stupid! Those off the top of your head poems are hard to pull off, even grabbing hold with two sets of caste iron pincers.