summer palace, guest house behind

Italian brick wall – opulent, as befits

the greatest landowner and receiver

of gifts to honor deity

one elected after another and another

for centuries and still grand in power

and influence as supreme for millions

ceilings arching to sixty meters and more

painted, arched, frescoed, gilded

long corridors extended, side-roomed

elegantly lined with exquisite statues

and floored with patterned, ancient marble

                        mjNordgren  12/17/2022  Rome