Wednesday, July 26, 2023

SIBYLS

 

For days now Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones

Has spent his afternoons on his back

Staring at the Sistine Chapel's ceiling

Through opera glasses. He is now thinking

Which of the Sibyls might be worth flirting with

And has decided the Libyan might be the best

Of a very rugged sisterhood. However, it isn't her

But the Cumaean who has now begun 

Casting glances at him. He wonders: would it be politic

To refuse the advances of an ancient seer who could

Crush boulders into sand but she nudges an ignudi

Who drifts to the floor and whispers to him

"God is soon going to notice you. Leave the Vatican.

Leave Rome. Leave Italy; if you have a name, change it.

Also, the Libyan Sibyl wouldn't have you as a gift."

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