Olivia Cole
Ponte Sant’Angelo
Rome. Pope Clement IX declared Bernini’s angels too lovely to be exposed to the weather. Copies were made for the Ponte Sant’Angelo and the originals remained with Bernini’s family until 1729, when they were moved to a church. (Spoken by one of the copies).
I have sisters who live in a church,
dreaming of air, the clinging damp
of low dawn tides. I have sisters, smooth
and white as brides, that the pope
couldn’t bear to let outside. In the sun,
in the wind or the rain, grey as a ghost
and moulded green, I look my age
and watch you walk away. Don’t tell me
you don’t love them more, but even so,
deep down, come on, you know it’s true –
they are, what can I say? Too good for you.
Get off the floor. I know it’s me,
out here, who makes you shiver.
I’ve seen the way you cross and re-cross the river.
I have sisters who live in a church,
dreaming of air, the clinging damp
of low dawn tides. I have sisters, smooth
and white as brides, that the pope
couldn’t bear to let outside. In the sun,
in the wind or the rain, grey as a ghost
and moulded green, I look my age
and watch you walk away. Don’t tell me
you don’t love them more, but even so,
deep down, come on, you know it’s true –
they are, what can I say? Too good for you.
Get off the floor. I know it’s me,
out here, who makes you shiver.
I’ve seen the way you cross and re-cross the river.
Olivia Cole is a poet and journalist.
Page(s) 70
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