Poetry Friday: The Glorio of Rome

Statue of Babuino w/Bird

The Glorio of Rome

Because the Pincio is not the Pinch-ee-o
but is the Peen-cho, and because our mouths
must make that e then o, we sound like small rondini
peeping, we sound like piccolo uccelli, see?
Noi amiamo - si, we love - those long-voweled birdy-o's
in their umbrella pines, they way they make us crazy,
make us weep above the plaza of the still-here Roman popolo,
and make us want to swoop from Via Veneto
right down to Rick's Place in the crumbling Pio
chirping Peep, peep, peep, Bernini-o!

I wrote that when I was over in Rome as a graduate student.My good friend, the poet Rebecca Hoogs, is over in Rome right now as Co-Director (along with poet Johnny Horton) of the University of Washington's Creative Writing/Rome Program for the summer. She's sending wonderful photos back via Facebook. Here is one that captures the extraordinary blue of a Roman sky. I've never seen this shade of blue in the sky in any other part of the world.

Rome is definitely a city for poets. Voglio andare a bella Roma ora!! (Grande sospiro....)

Before you head off to more of Poetry Friday, here are two more photos Rebecca sent:

A dry goods store, probably near the Campo de Fiori.
What happens to colors in Rome - is it the light?

Last but not least, Johnny eating gelato and looking much more severe than he really is:

Poetry Friday today is being hosted by Tabatha Yeatts over at
The Opposite of Indifference.

Happy 4th of July tomorrow!