obelisks

i knew what obelisks were all of my life
but until i walked in the shadow of one
and saw the intricate inscriptions that i cannot read
did i feel their strength and splender

there are 30 in the world, all from egypt
13 in roma, in egypt only seven, four standing
the ones in london and new york
used to be in roma

san giovanni's in roma
is the tallest in the world, 105 feet,
originally 140 feet
and the oldest - 15 century b.c.

a true obelisk is made from one piece of stone
so they say
washington monument is 555 feet tall
many pieces, but obelisk enough for me

in roma obelisks are impossible to avoid
easy to glance at from afar
worth seeking out
magnificent to examine

artists dinner

saturday all of us met for dinner
at marina's house in the country

eight robust artist types
drank wine and laughed

bread, fruit, cheese, and one oven cooked chicken
we ate and ate, enjoyed talking, and then ate more

then when we were finished
all completely well satisfied

we noticed there was chicken left over
no drugs, no miracle, how could it be?

anzio

we took a train an hour south to anzio
a thousand others had the same idea

had a fine seafood lunch at the lovely port
so did the thousand others

our seafood anti-pasta for two
came on fifteen different large plates

how can there still be fish in the sea?
we sure are eating a lot of it

note that everything at the anzio station is broken
and covered with more graffiti than we've seen anywhere else

the day was sunny and warm
and full of people

it's not yet spring, the tourists haven't even arrived
and they will

just checking

today we rented a car, were returning it
and were ten feet from the entrance to the car rental place
on a busy street, turn signal on

twenty feet farther a group of police stood
one flagged us to pull ahead, i told meri to just turn
i waved no to the cop, we're turning in here, be sensible
"no , this is police work, drive forward and stop"

meri did what they said.
while the first cop was asking her for documents etc.
i got out of the car and asked another cop, "who's the boss?"
he was the boss

"why stop us, we were turning back there?"
"it's a car check"
"there are plenty of cars for you to check." i pointed
indeed, many others were speeding by

"where are you from?, he asked
not answering his question, i responded, "i'm a citizen of roma"
that stopped him. he didn't expect me to yell at him in italian.
and that citizen of roma stuff always works

"you know this is ridiculous," i said.
"well, this is how things are done in italy," he replied.
i said, "i know."

and that is the whole truth, your honor

the pantheon

marcus agrippa is credited for first building this ancient shrine
destroyed by fire in 80 a.d., built again in 125 a.d.
the oldest standing domed structure in rome
perhaps the best preserved building of its age in the world

erected, destroyed, rebuilt again, it's original purpose unknown
a circular building, a temple dedicated to all the gods
and for the people, who have always come to this place

the interior a perfect circle, the diameter and height are 43 meters
inside, to the center, below the circular vaulted roof opening, called the great eye, the oculus, over 8 meters in diameter
we paused to enjoy and appreciate

meri, looking through that eye to the sky, saw a lone bird fly over
and asked how i was at reading auguri, omens, signs from the heavens
i held her and smiled

a step at a time, i have no insight into what may be
we do the best we can with what we have
slowly it keeps changing, we'll wait and see

outside to the base of a pillar on the sunny side
we sat to watch for a while
with no particular purpose in mind
two small local boys played as children have for ages
on their marble slab home turf of the pantheon

taking in the bright day
amid the quiet well-ordered mirth
still aware for whatever it's worth
that these precious moments are joys
for our brief time on earth

weather roma

on a map for italy's weather there were
eighteen suns over lazio, the region of roma

oh, look at venezia, how many suns
count 'em up, there's almost twenty

i found a four percent chance of precipitation
on a clear day, repeated every hour

the amount of winds, negligible
but mentioned frequently

a chart of projections for the day
updated in two hour increments

complete - not completely
no mention of temperature

figlio di putanna, isn't the amount of clouds
and eighteen suns over roma enough for you?

unless we tell you otherwise
weather will continue as usual

iced over

a door is opened a crack
and on the back
of my neck
a cold wind pushes me
to recollect a day walking, walking
in the snow with my hands in my pockets
with my head low and nose cold
walking in the wind, in the snow
long ago

to or from somewhere
saw some friends
going to the corner store

city-old maples
fat and icy
tap their limbs upon windows
no one can let them in

puddles on the curb
round the corner
on the curve
iced over

run down the street
feet and ice meet
slide on the sheet
iced over
in the wind, in the snow
long ago

house

our house is your home
would you move out please
we just bought it

we made an offer on a house
in the country, an hour out of roma
the house needs attention
it’s all there, but not how we’d do it

what do we want? something else.
how do we want it? easy.
will we know it when we see it?
maybe, but don't bet on it.

globalization will do away with choice
one burger, one car, one house
why should we complain?
it’s less expensive to make it all the same

and why should it stop? with stem cell technology
one dog: part cat, part fish, part chicken
when you’re done playing with it
you can eat it

quick say

down at the vineria, the wine shop
from thirty feet away
i saw the waiter who has seen me several times
sitting, taking coffee with roberto at mid-day

our eyes met, he paused
recognition appeared
i raised my chin and squinted in question
he thought again and peered

he gave a quick shake no
we exchanged a few slight, rapid tilts of head and shoulders
and nods of confirmation
all was well in order

then both shrugged, turned, went about our way
this was a solid bit of communication
absolute and complete in eight seconds
here's what we had to say

i said, "hey, i know you ."
"i know you also," came his first.
"how are you doing, have you seen roberto?"
"i'm fine," he answered, "but, no, i haven't seen robert. he hasn't been around."
"okay," I said, "let him know i was looking for him if you see him."
"Will do," he answered.
"i'll be back, it was good to see you."
" yeah, you to."
"ciao."
"ciao."

colossus

after a long bus ride out to laurentina, the suburbs
near the grande raccordo annulare, the great highway ring around roma
we relented and returned on the swift metro line b

under the pyramid,
under the old chariot race site circus maximus
below the old forum to our stop

we walked and escalatored up several flights
to encounter saturday night at fiori imperiale,
mussolini's contribution in the 1930s, a boulevard
that cuts through the forum to the center of roma

the ruins of nero's home, domus aurea on the rise behind us
before, the colosseum

behold - grandiose, invincible master of ages
modern marker of the bygone empire

tall and black against the chill of february sky
that has withstood two millenia
of wind, rain, scorching heat and cold
paraded in and shouted over

blood and prayers, beasts and gladiator
lie dormant in the sands beneath

now buses pass closely by
i saw a jet liner flying toward fiumicino airport
photos are snapped and promises have been made
under the shadow of the giant

and in the twentieth century they dug
a metro line tunnel under everything

today - no problem

we bought tickets for the train
it should have been easy
but train was canceled

things happen
an hour later caught a train
that went part way

stopped, waited for the next train
found a little place to eat
lunch was good, music loud

six people in the place
music enough for forty-five
did they want us to eat or dance

enjoyed the food, ate well
prices reasonable
ears sill ringing

caught our train to the country
a fine day
came back without incident
on the bus

Meri told me the ugly old
man in the silk stockings
was a woman
almost missed our stop

just another day
no problem

most all asleep

when the city sleeps it can't hear me
creeping about in my pajamas
when standing by the window
i listen for it

only the clock moves
in absolute defiance
to the silence of the night

an appliance
and electrical wires
hum on for me
forever a subtext

a lone plane passes over
a car door closes
a voice down the street

fractions of the day
still awake
complete
even the cats are asleep

clerks quirks

why do the grocery store clerks always ask for exact change
when the cashiers at our bread store never do?

also at the grocery store if the amount is three-ninety eight
they keep two cents and start counting back change at four

if my bill comes to nine fifty-six
the cashier will pause
look slowly into the cash drawer
wiggle around in there with her fingers five or ten minutes

talk to another employee for a while
then look up with eyes glazed and dead pan face
and ask if I have fifty-six cents
every time

i notice that if i don't move at the speed of lightening
like an old west gun slinger in the movies
she is already back in the drawer making change
the question to me was just something required by law
means nothing

if this were a movie, the director would yell cut
"ok, jack, step aside. we're bringing in a stunt man to go for the exact change. this guy is really fast, incredible."

by the time i have a few coins out to help
she is handing me change
not counting it out, just putting it on the
special plastic place that was built for change
along with my receipt

the bread store rounds off one or two cents
or loads me up with one and two cent pieces
that i carry home and put in a jar
until it's too heavy to lift

i’ve never seen an italian coin wrapper
i think they use buckets and scales
where are the oxen pulling wagons on the street
and big guys riding shot gun

ever since that guy invented the
drop ceilings that are sold all over the world
everyone is looking for another thing that can make a billion bucks and be used everywhere
that's what those change holders are at checkout counters

i expect to see those grocery clerks in their spare time
on the corner asking for change
just to keep in practice

via cappellari

 

our little apartment building dates from 1500
the arch was erected about 1300
my source is an architectural historian
from john cabot here in roma

on the wall under the arch
is a sign on the wall inscribed in Latin on a marble slab
dated 1733

it says not to discard refuse under the arch
offenders risk monetary fine
and corporeal punishment

the city of Roma now puts
our refuse cans under the arch

abramo & zakaria

abramo is one of the waiters
he's served us several times
back by the wood oven is zakaria the older egyptian cook
i asked his name a year or two ago
complimenting him for the pizza he makes so well

both have biblical names
here in italy it used to be the law
you had to name your child after a saint
my god, now they are putting chips in people

roma is tough, they endure with patience
what desires have they for the twilight called tomorrow
we greet them, chat little, must not slow them down
they work long hours not getting wealthy

i respect these friendly fellows of another world
here colliding asteroids in city space, bump and go
we eat and go, countless tourists hardly see them
they are but a necessary convenience

zakaria said hi to me the other day at the hardware store
i didn't recognize him out place, without his cooking whites
his little hat. his pizzas are the best you know
why are egyptian cooks often the best for italian pizza

abramo is youthful, slight and quick
he will bend in the winds of time, see many changes
possessed with good spirit and force
god bless his energy

we don't look over, around or through these two
they, as we, are seeking acceptance

mickey rooney

we didn't buy tickets right away
we heard he was going to be at
the state theater in sandusky, ohio

big deal, who cares, he's old
then we read it was his birthday
and we started talking about it

the night of the performance
we were pumped
went there and bought
last-minute, top balcony back, the last seats

and we knew it would happen
just as we said, the last thing in the performance
they wheeled out cake and the music began
we stood, leaned back our head, smiled

and loudly joined with everyone in the theater
and it bounced off the ceiling
filled up each row and ran down the street
that's why we went, and what we got

how many times in your life do you
get to do that?
we always will remember the night
we sang happy birthday mickey rooney

porta blu

Alberto leads the game
He’s the core, The master who created the space
sets the rules and the pace at
his school for art

press the button, enter the place
all those seeking to climb to new lights in abstraction
gather amid music and fine company to treasure black chalk lines
or brush a bit of paint as they work
styled just right
under white light
below the streets of roma

an artist’s life is lived in experiment, chance and betterment
it only appears as chaos
until one gets the hang of it
and learns to cope with what you’ve got

time-out comes with tea and cookies
a diversion for the learned still learning new ways
among contented faces

then back to work
forgetting time until it calls
to wrap the lion heart of the artist in silence deep
where it aches to get back out
the next time
here under the street
at Porta Blu

coincidence saves time

i didn’t make it snow
he could have told me no
didn’t drive it very far
when i wrecked my brother’s car

i need someone to blame
the car will never be the same
it was easy what I did
i braked on ice and slid

it could have been a garbage can
but no, I slid into his insurance man
not just the man, he was in his car
you know how coincidences are

meri's idea

print it on clothes, on your car and on your cat
“The world needs more”

line ‘em up and fill it to overflow
look below and get the rest of it

no need counting anything
just take it all, keep loading

when you’re pumping gas – don’t stop
don’t save anything, use it all
why do you think there are super-stores?

fill me, thrill me, bill me later
high speed loop de loop
counterfeit the brand names
withdraw it all

several credit cards will help
jam it, damn it
limits are made to be broken
what are records for?

market analysis

holy catfish the markets diving
and won’t come up for air
all your trouble is like a bubble
when it pops sit back and stare

no need to hurry if you want to worry
you’ve got the time to spare
but hold that frown, cause it’s going down
every stinking where

some history

first the sumerians began to write
then envelopes with glue came about after they found
a dead horse stuck to the sidewalk

then the post office made stamps
more horses turned up missing

when mail started getting lost
they blamed it on the pony express
and raised the price of stamps

they tried morse code, radio, town criers, tv and computers
not in that order
but letters and envelopes wouldn’t go away
hallmark was happy
and the price of stamps went up

bulk rates for advertisers were invented
and immediately the rates went down
dit-dit-dit,dah-dah-dah.dit-dit-dit

when you wash socks

when you wash socks
be sure to count them
pair them up
do not count them in the dirty laundry
it is not advised

but you damn well better line up your ducks
excuse me, socks, when you take them out of the dryer
and try not to stare at the dryer spinning

you heard about crazy kids climbing into dryers
and getting spun nuts – well I want to warn you
the same thing is true
about staring at spinning dryers
it can spin you nuts, bro!

so the moral of this is to pair up your socks
immediately after taking them out of the dryer.
Or else

meri drove

It rained and thundered on and off in the early morning. First we’d call it off, then it’d quit raining and it was on again. We had rented a car on line, just for the day, and finally decided to take a bus to the Termini and get our car.

Fine. We showed up at the Termini and they had no knowledge of our reservation. No trace, no how, no car, no way, no shit!

At the next counter, three inches away a polite girl for another company had a car and a good price. We were on our way. Meri drove us around Sabina.
More about Sabina at another time.

When we got the car back, we went down to the office, Meri used the bathroom while I had to go back up to the fourth floor of the parking lot and drop off the car keys, put them in a slot in a box. I thought it was a good trick just finding the box and figuring out that was where the keys are dropped.

When I came back down, I nodded toward the bathroom and the guy behind the glass slipped me a metal door handle with a square block on it that fit where the door handle goes. I have taken a few door handles apart so I knew what the thing he gave me was for. How do others do it?

Later, on the way out, I asked the guy behind the glass if tourists had difficulties. Yes, with the door handle, but finding a gas station and getting the car back to the rental place also. He said the Italians have trouble. Even the people that work there have trouble getting to work. Nothing is easy for anybody, ever.

“Yeah, but Roma is bella,” I told him. We laughed.

writing

writing’s a bit
like digging a pit
you have to know
how deep to go

and what do you do
when that work is through?
You cover that lover
and start on another

This morning
forty years later
I’m walking around humming hey jude
I’m humming it like it was yesterday
You know what I mean

humming right along
it just surprised me, that’s all
those four mop-heads got old
well, two of them got old
and look what happened to you and me

balls

We just got another ball off the Vatican christmas tree. It’s the fourth time we happened by when they were taking down the tree and we got one of the balls.
The balls get weathered, so they just give them away.
Easter must be early because they usually don’t take down the tree until after valentines day.

The first time we got a ball, in 2000, we were going to the post office at the Vatican. It was February and they were taking down the tree that day.
Meri said, “why don’t you go get one of the balls, they’re giving them away.”
"You want a gold one or a silver?" I asked.
"Gold," she said.
"We're a little late, you know."
"Just get one. I'm going in the post office."

I looked at the crowd and thought it was impossible, but started walking over to the tree in the center of the Vatican piazza. Hundreds of people surrounded the tree. Surely we were too late. About half way across the piazza from out of the mass of people an older couple walked toward me. The woman was happily holding a large gleaming sphere in each hand.
They stopped directly in from of me and the lady said, “We got two balls, but can’t pack them both. Which one do you want?” She held out a large gold and a large silver. Surprised and pleased the quest was over as quickly as it had begun, I took the gold one, and she seemed pleased with my choice.

after getting the christmas ball today
we were beyond piazza cavour
sitting down on a bench and
our friend bruce who we haven't seen for a few years
walks up and finds us

it’s another one of those roma coincidences
were you see someone you don’t expect in
another part of the city

nico

 

Nico’s ninety-four, can hardly see me
waves his hands and says
i’m like a big shadow
he’s not very tall

used to be a dancer acrobat
traveled europe with his pretty partner
i’ve seen photos of him holding her
above his head with one hand

he lives alone in the small third floor apartment
where his grandmother lived in the 1860s
where his mother was born
and so was he

about once a month or so
he cooks another pot of vegetable soup
that’s all he eats, and some nuts
that’s all he desires

much younger than a man of his years
he keeps talking - hopping about
overflowing energy, enthusiasm, and joy
with good wishes to all he encounters

roma - italian senate archive/library

 

italy’s senate is on
corso del rinascimento,
meaning street of the renaissance

next door is the senate library – the state archive
with great double doors framed in grey heavy stone
and a pointy roof like a birdhouse
an entranceway eighteen feet tall

from the bus stop directly across the street
I could see a couple of tourists, dark silhouettes
just inside the open doors looking
beyond the sun-lit interior courtyard
over the pillars of the building on the back side
and then above to the decorative white, spired
belltower of the church behind the library

an acquaintance, roberto, had been
the senate librarian
for a lifetime
now retired, another takes his place
while the usefulness of this centuries old building
goes on

coincidences

the other day meri saw some guy from the 19 tram
that morning she saw him at roccos breakfast place
in another part of the city

many times I have seen familiar faces
on the other side of town
on the same day

a few days ago I had the idea to call ambra from the train
she already was at the next stop
waiting to board our train

she got on at the tiburtina stop
we had a nice talk for a half-hour or so
then she was on her way

there are two and a half million people here, but
I’ve noticed, and so have friends, that you see people
when you don't expect to.

roma is like that

sunday in roma

With no particular destination in mind we left home this morning and took a bus a few blocks to Piazza Venezia, the historical center of Roma.

We crossed in front where the well uniformed Carbinieri stand watch at the national monument, then walked around the side.
An art show of works by Paul Gauguin was underway at the Veneziana. There was quite a line.

On the side of the monument we started down the walk on the old crude pavement stones. Years ago we were there when tour group was coming up the hill and heard the guide call instructions to his group. Then a a few moments later a member of the group repeated the call to some stragglers “This is a part of the original Roman road, we have two minutes to get on the bus.”

Near the back side of the building we descended a staircase to the old jail where it is said that both Peter and Paul were prisoners and miraculously escaped. There are no signs to indicate this, and as with much of old Rome, you have to know what and where things are.

Then on the back side of the monument we stood over the old Roman Forum that stretches several hundred yards and two thousand years to the Arch of Constantine and the Colosseum. These Forum ruins are what is left of the Rome of the Ceasars. The worn buildings have been stripped and tumbled for centuries and recycled, in part to provide material to build the current old building of Rome.

Much of old Rome remains in the Forum, and today the tourists were about as plentiful as the residents and merchants on a market day of old. Oddly, the population of Rome is about the same as it was two thousand years ago, two and a half million.

Then we walked up and around to the Campidoglio, saw the statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback and the square that Michelangelo designed to show it off. Today a wedding was taking place at the popular spot for civil weddings.

Then around and up again to a breathtaking terrace view over rome.

“Where’s the camera?” I asked reaching out for it.
”Didn’t you bring it? You were going to bring it.” She said.
“I thought you were bringing it,” I said.
“I charged the batteries, you were going to bring the camera. That’s the last thing you said,” she reminded.
“I asked if you were going to bring the camera.”
“And, you said you were going to bring it,” she said.

Then down, across the street and through the ghetto. A ceremony was going on as we passed. The president of the Hebrew community was speaking for the day of remembrance. The Nazis of World war II will not be forgotten.

We boarded the tram across the Tiber to Trastevere. We tried two different tables at a crowded Italian restaurant that was filled to overflowing with deaf people this day, so we opted to return another day, left and had Chinese food at our nearby regular Sunday restaurant.

Our friend maria met us, and said next week she’d take us to an old Roman eatery nearby.
We had coffee, talked and then returned home at dark. It was a fine day in Roma.