Venice by day

We walked and walked
along canals, over bridges
under low passageways
and through narrow alleys.

It is easy to lose your bearings,
to find youself unexpectedly
at a dead end beside the water.

You follow people who seem to know
as they cut across empty squares
and disappear down alleyways

Unconsciously you find markers
for the way back,
a purple flower, an orange shirt,

chandelier drops in sunlight,
marble leaves that curl and twist,

gleaming almond tarts,
a lion staring from a verdigris door

and curvaceous cherubs
frolicking joyfully
in the bright November sun.