Ciao, Bella!

History sighs in the whirling lungs of Rome,

"Flowers can be found anywhere, even at home!"

Let the Vestals watch as I stroke the poppy's head,

2,000 years, you'd think they'd be dead.

The fields hide the agoras, the bounties of Trajan

A once bustling center, the blanket term's 'ancient.'

A tour guide whistles through bustling streets

with sneakers, not sandals, on the soles of their feet.

Life still breathes in the marketplace of time,

there's proof in the poppies and the walls that they climb.