Eleanor, 12-July 13 Rome

July 13 and 14

ROME

What to see in Rome? What's to see?
Monuments of great antiquity,
Flashy motors on the Appian way,
Splashing fountains ceaselessly in play.

Of all the wicked men ,
Still the names are held accused,
Of all the wicked men,
Appius Claudius was the worst.

We saw the spot where on the she-wolf lay,
Until a shepherd took the twins away.
Numa Pompilius, Rome's second king,
Erected walls, The very oldest thing
We saw in Rome was stones preserved with care.

Of this same wall, now in a public square,
Now from the Rock Tarpeian,
Could the wan bierghers spy.
A crowd of weary foreigners
Touring 'neath blazing sky.

We gazed upon the Forum long with awe,
And could not number half the things we saw.
Palace and temple we can clearly trace,
The Vestal Virgins' home, the Market Place.
The crumbling outlines of the Sacred Way,
The rostrum where great Cicero held sway.

And Caesar spoke to all who came to hear,
And Antony prepared to shed a tear.
While flows the Yellow River,
While stands the sacred hill.
The splendid, dirty city
Shall have such tourists still.

We saw the Golden Home where Nero played
His lyre, and Christians into ashes made.
This mile-long house was pulled down out of spite,
To help to rear the Colosseum's height.
Again, the Colosseum, pulled apart
Made five great churches in the city's heart.

And still more stones are left than ever can
It seems, be handled by the hands of man.
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds,
While he walks himself exhausted,
And his flagging spirits prods!

To tell of all the churches still remains,
We saw "St. Peter and St. Paul in chains"
We also saw St. Peter, and St. Paul
I liked these last two buildings best of all.

We saw the most peculiar sight of Rome's,
The Christian skeletons in catacombs.
We saw the church St. John in Lateran,
The quiet beauty of the Vatican,
But the Yellow Tiber was tumult and afright,
The travellers were worried
That they might miss one sight.

We saw the Sistine Chapel, we stood near
The beauty of Apollo Belvedere.
We saw Laocoon and for a while,
We watched the figure of Old Father Nile.
Then when our time at last was almost gone,
We stopped to wonder at the Marble Faun.
In nearby parking places,
Our bus is parked in line.
As an eagle's nest hangs on the crest,
Of purple Apennines.

As we come down each building's marble stairs,
We're met by hucksters peddling their wares.
With post cards, maps, mosaics, cameos,
They push their glass beads under every nose.
We buy fine linen, leather, perfume balls,
Cut stones, silk scarfs, blessed rosaries and shawls

What we cannot get by purchase,
We'll have to take by theft.
The tourist has in his despair,
One fearful refuge left.
Then as the she-wolf's litter goes to bed,
A noisy airplane rattles over head