Via Appia
written by: Polly Oliver
Her blood sings through the vessels of his heart,
Which beats out love’s time,
Sweetly uncovered in her cool hands.
They rest together, unravelled
Against the scented bark,
Amidst the Roman silence
And the ruins of ancient lives.
The pines whisper:
‘Time is short lovers’.
Breathing their ageless moment,
They unfold into millennia.
Green and pink floor fragments,
Still fresh as sweets burn her bare feet,
Heated under the searing sky
Peering into their villa of peace.
Amphitheatre and circus rings
Re-bind the old tale of new desire.
Promises shatter in bliss as the grasses hiss:
‘You were always here’.
The unseeing eyes on the roadside tombs read:
‘There is no meaning but this’.
I follow his zig-zag path of joy.
He lights the dusk, this beautiful boy.
As pregnant clouds let go at last
Spotting with tears the watchful stones of his path.
- Poinsettia Wreath in a December Churchyard - December 19, 2024
- Lillies - November 10, 2023
- The Old Mill - October 20, 2019
