Neptune honoured you
Buxom mother Venezia
With riches you could not imagine
Cornucopia of crude
The dubious blessing
Of oilrigs and refineries.
Juno showers down on you
The wealth of nations
Dollars, pounds, yen
Flow into your coffers
Price of your once-proud soul.
Ibrahim, Ishmael and Ali
Sell fake Gucci bags
Outside Venetian Institute.
Pigeons peck for crumbs
Amid litter and cigarette butts
How are the mighty fallen!
You won the Battle of Lepanto
But lost the war with Mammon
Charging pilgrims for darshan
Of San Marco's tomb.
At last, out on the lagoon
I found your heart and essence
More ancient that Doge
Or Serenissima Republica
No armour, no velvet capes
No trompe d'oeil panels
A tower rising above tranquil fields
A simple Byzantine apse
Where Theotokos rises
Above us in gold mosaic.
She is the mother, the sea
You the bambino
Cradled in her arms
A jewel to delight the world.
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