ALBERGO CESARI

ALBERGO CESARI

The Albergo Cesari, my home away from home,
For a few short days of R&R here in the streets of Rome.
A breakfast of croissants, cold cuts and tempting fare.
The pigeons gather dutifully on the corner of the square.

The Albergo Cesari, a refuge from the teeming crowd.
A haven from polizia, from buses and from taxis loud.
The almost overwhelming beauty of the young Roman men.
As soon as one passes by, another hurries by again.

The storefront with the latest fashions,
We’re with Stupid and the like,
The tiny little Roman cars, the limousines, the motorbikes.
The pizza and the gelato that melt upon the tongue,
The horns and air brakes every night when sleep it will not come.

The Albergo Cesari, where in the alleyways outside,
Angry maitre D’s scream in Italian at some hapless waiter’s sad mistake,
And the beauty of the city that could cause your heart to break.
The Pantheon, the Coliseum, where it’s now safe to be a Christian,
And sculpted lions that vomit water day and night in penance.
The Trevi Fountain and the Vatican, where we all complete our pilgrimage.
The nuns and priests with placid smiles expressed upon their visages.

The Albergo Cesari and all of this, mine for just a few days more,
As I teeter on joblessness back in the States, where nothing is secure.
The Albergo Cesari, my home away from home,
For a few short days of R&R here in the streets of Rome.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2010
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED