Ruins in the Lagoon

You took me past the gondolas
on the Grand Canal, and across
the shimmering lagoon.
I’d already fallen
for the sparkling glass of Murano
and the vibrancy of Burano,
and then you gave me a little island,
the gentle chirp of crickets,
ancient ruins, Byzantine mosaics
in the Church of Santa Maria Assunta,
and a restaurant among fragrant herbs,
where we drank limoncello,
soaking up the yellow
glow of sunshine on Torcello.

Kim M. Russell, 7th May 2025

Church of Santa Maria Assunta by Marialaura Gionfriddo on Unsplash

Sumana is our host at What’s Going On? today, where our theme is Ruin(s). She says that ruins are portals to another time, and that they “effectively remind us of the ancient Roman Tradition known as Memento Mori, meaning ‘remember you must die.’ The tradition involved a slave whispering the phrase in the ear of a triumphant Roman General during a military victory parade. Ruins are an insistent reminder of the passage of time, temporality, invoking the themes of decline and loss.’

However, she also comments that the ‘slow process of decaying erosion that characterized the relics of antiquity is now at odds with the almost instantaneous, quick disappearance of modern ruins.’

Sumana has given examples of poetry about ruins: ‘Ozymandias’ by Percy Bysshe Shelley and ‘Ruins of a Great House’ by Derek Walcott.

I reworked a very old poem.

22 thoughts on “Ruins in the Lagoon”

  3. Pingback: Dunnideer, November Morning – Musings from a Stonehead

  7. How well the actual names of things and places lent themselves for good rhyming. Kudos to you, Author Kim. Nothing overdone here. Great flow. And for putting this together in this order, kudos again.

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