Mosaics

 
        One hungry lion's roar
        echoes down this dark, domed tunnel.
        The percussion of his paws
        pounds through and out
        into the amphitheater:
        In Roman times.

        I am

        marveling
        at excavated images
        I've seen photographed,
        but never touched till now.

        Mosaics.

        I'm struck by the simplicity,
        the space between each tile;
        breath that flows into patterns        
        of leaping creatures
        and saints...

        I stand consumed.


 

 

 

poem copyright ©2000 Anne Selden Annab

The Theater

       
        Stroll on an ancient walk,
        paved with thick flat stones
        puzzled into place.

        Step inside an amphitheater,
        listen as echo looms footsteps.

        Approach the curved span of seats
        that step up with narrow ledges-
        imagine sweat and smell and sound
        and no choice but to nudge
        and jostle with a crowd
        in this empty coliseum.
        
        But there must have been
        sometimes, in those long ago days,
        that this place was left empty.

        Empty enough for a dreamer...
        To rest on a narrow edge and watch  
        the sunlight play against stone

        as a cloud shadow dances
        across the stage.

poem copyright ©2000 Anne Selden Annab