Alexander Soley

Where is the Rome of Old?

            Within the glory that is Papal Rome
            Ancient Rome is scattered and broken.
            The market removed, the Colosseum denuded
            Where is the Rome of Old?

            In the Ancient Market,
            Originally full of silk and spice,
            Where five-story malls challenged the Gods for dominance,
            Where many languages of the living were spoken,
            Remains a mere shell of its former self.
            The Roman market is half-gone
            They stole the market,
            They took the entire share.
            All of Rome
            Bowed to the Pope.
            Where is the Rome of Old?

            Within the Colosseum,
            Was a flashing, ominous marble structure.
            A place with thousands of spectators baying for blood.
            A place full of grandeur and art.
            Yet despite the immortal grandness of it all,
            It was built by mortal hands.
            Within the Colossus of today,
            There is no marble.
            Where its soul should have been.
            In its place is a shell of its former glory.   
            Where is the Rome of Old?

            Within the glorious pantheon,
            Older than the Republic, Caesar, and Christ,
            An ancient temple dedicated to the King of gods,
            Not Jesus, not Jehovah, but the ancient Jupiter,
            Is now a place stripped by plunder and Pope.
            The bronze is gone,
            And the inside is glorified,
            For the glory of god and his heavenly servant.
            The ominous oculus, god’s watch,
            Shines on the grandeur that was the chicken market,
            A place redeemed for only the Pope’s wish,
            A place still lacking in Rome’s glory.
            A place only reserved for His glory.
            Where is the Rome of Old?

            Within the baths
            Where all men took a dip,
            Glorious paintings decorated the walls,
            Tile shined and gold reflected.
            The marble is now gone, the paintings have disappeared,
            With graffiti in its place.
            Where is the Rome of Old?

            There lied the ancient circus, the Circus Maximus,
            The ultimate arena for chariot races,
            The number one theater for the Caesar and his subjects.
            Not to mention the place of execution of those who worship Him,
            Betrayed the Caesars,
            And many other malcontents.
            The entire arena is gone.
            The Circus is now a flat expanse of grass.
            Nothing more.
            Where is the Rome of Old?

            That is where the Rome of Old now lies.       
            One church, built from the Pope’s plunder of Ancient Rome,
            Is stacked with marble that glorifies the Pope of the era.
            On the ceiling, the beautiful artwork, the colorful tapestry,
            Was that derived from the Ancients as well?
            That church, the marble looks so familiar.
            That is where the Rome of Old now lies.

            Within the holy Vatican,
            A place with little worship,
            Roman marble
            Byzantine gold,
            Renaissance artwork,
            Colossus marble
            Occupy this thieve's den.
            That is where the Rome of Old now lies.

            St. Peter’s Basilica, untouched by global war,
            Embodies Ancient Rome.
            Brilliant marble plundered from the Ancients,
            Gold taken from the Byzantines by Catholic crusaders,
            And art commissioned from a few artists,
            Now make up the Center of the Catholic Cross
            That is where the Rome of Old now lies.

            From the glory that was Rome,
            For the glory that is God.
            The ancient glory defiled by no invader,
            But taken apart stone by stone by its own children.
            Time brings on change,
            But it should never attempt to erase history.
            There is no reverence to the Rome of the past,
            Only a Rome that can never live without it.

            Ancient Rome shall never die,
            Its stones still hold the great empire’s ancient lore.
            An architectural center of beauty and pagan passion.
            The Colloseum’s marble
            The Pantheon’s gold
            The stones of the Circus Maximus
            Have become the foundation for the grandeur that is the Vatican.
            Whether visible or broken,           
            The immortal that is History will always remain. [BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS, CLASS OF 2007 EDITION]

Copyright © 2002-2006 Student Publishing Program (SPP). Poetry and prose © 2002-2006 by individual authors. Reprinted with permission. Contents photo from LHS Yearbook Staff. SPP developed and designed by Strong Bat Productions.