In the Farnese gardens there was birdsong -
Sunlight fell on mannered greenery -
There were cypress trees, paths trod by exquisite ghosts -
Water fell into a fountain -
I looked out from a terrace across the city -
I saw its churches, palaces, towers -
Its broken columns, arches white as bone -
The long memory of its ancient heart -
Farnese Gardens, Rome
April 2025