La Serenissima

Soft water rippling in cascading curves
Ten million lights from unknown windows
Shed their beauty on the water

All is silent
Unable to speak into the velvet darkness
Of the night

Buildings,
Slowly sinking on legs of old
Into the canals filled with ancient memories
And a people's lost dreams

A gondola
Wood like silk
Sails through the never-ending water
Breaking the spell of light
That touches the water's black surface

A mandolin
Plucking its lonely tune
Into the night

Ancient lions
Stone eyes dreaming
Of times past and celebrations
Of the heart

Masked boys hide in the shadows
Silent, yet spilling secrets
Through all-knowing eyes

La serenissima
This is Venice