A Night in Rome
Janine Canan
A beautiful young couple in white and black shirts,
at a white clothed table on the Piazza Navonna,
ask the waiter to take their picture.
Over creamy cannelloni they smile,
as countless forms of humanity
parade the cobblestone square.
From somewhere, a tenor sings.
A horse-drawn carriage clops by
to no apparent destination.
The suave waiter in a smooth white jacket
presses his large brown long-lashed eye
to the lens, and clicks.
The silvery woman at a nearby table
needs no photo to recall the vivid instant--
only yesterday--she too promenaded in magic.
The lamp of the sky is softly lit.
The lights of the piazza slowly come on.
The waiters are jovial, consoling.
They know how brief is this delightful scene.
Nor does the ancient city bother
to scour its darkening walls--
soon, soon, they too will be rubble.
And the poet taking notation--who knows
how she will be cast in the next play.