Roberta Feins

St Mark’s Cathedral, Venice

Cupolas and arches converse with mosque and caravanserai. Lacey stone rims stained glass. Now I am here with someone else’s mother. Treasures sacked from Byzantium, displayed on velvet like severed heads. Some cultures see rubies as congealed blood, others as frozen fire. Chrysoberyl, lapis lazuli, sapphire – blue as the night Mother died. Rock crystal may be a gem. Carved into a cup, it is a window to gaze through.

Grieving –
A flood has breached the gate.
My face, a soaked book.