Mosaic of the Doves
…………….Musei Capitolini, Roma
This ancient work may please the tourists who
remain well-centered in the room, but it
stuns those drawn closer for a better view.
Whatever Greek or Roman artist fit
these tesserae together must have been
his era’s master of the intricate.
The panel functioned as an emblem in
a floor of Hadrian, long lost but found
and saved through eighteenth-century discipline.
Since framed and hung, it shows four doves around
an ornate basin. Plumage mottled, two
stare, heads erect against the dark background.
The others preen or drink without ado.
It seems that any could begin to coo.
Roundabout
…………at Ocean Boulevard and East Beach Causeway
………………..on Saint Simon’s Island
The intersection, long deemed dangerous
by most, was closed right after Labor Day,
but many, forced to go a different way,
considered such a project ludicrous.
Of course, the work was done by Halloween,
concrete and asphalt ready, signs reset,
so hordes of Georgia undergrads could get
to where all party-hearty Dawgs convene.
Those gone, some found the empty central space
humdrum when driving, cycling, walking by,
and several soon decided they should try
to add a little interest to the place.
A potted plant showed up, then left; next flowers
appeared, joined by a Christmas tree in hours.
© Jane Blanchard
Jane Blanchard lives and writes in Georgia (USA). Her poetry has recently appeared in Aethlon, The French Literary Review, The Lyric, and Third Wednesday. Her latest collection is In or Out of Season (2020).
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