Firenze
Is this the place where the light first burned
and spread northwards to dispel the dark?
Is this the city that shaped a da Vinci and fashioned a Michelangelo?
that forged a Mona Lisa and a David?
Resting firmly on the shoulder of Tuscany
Gazed benignly on by the Senese Clavey Hills
Florence flourishes
the Arno glides gently
under the Il Ponteveccio- ancient bridge
on whose breast medieval cavalcades passed;
she arches proudly flanked by dozens more
Florentines pass - young and old
content and intent; and no wonder
the vineyards sparkle from the terraced hills
and the wine is tasted with pomp and pageant
I knock on the door of
it invites with bevies of bouqueted angels
and the Duomo's spires point heavenwards;
But the Fontana del Nettunno
beckons with a troop of naked cupids
and my feet stray towards Ufficio
to La Nascita Venere: the birth
of Venus and a new century.