A Poem by Susan Dale

In Venice


In Venice I saw them

dancing across the spires of sunset

into

a twilight of gray luster lagoons

A couple with

Fred Astaire in his steps

Ginger Rogers

dipping and

backbends

　

Wayward winds broke into twilight

As they danced above the

dark waters of Othello

shimmering with halos

of Venice chandeliers

whispering in the windows

Puddle-lit waters surrounded them

Currents reflected with palaces and cathedrals

Sprays and mist kissed our faces

Gondoliers plied the waters

Wakes and swishes

Splashes of a boating song

A lone gent in suit and tie

Sat on a water-logged balcony

Dinning above the fluid poem of Venice

wrinkling the waters

Remembering all

through the fog of time

Shrouds of Venice

rising from the lagoons

Doves with iridescent wings

Ghosts of mist

And palaces swimming through

scrolls of currents

But mostly, from yesterday

they are yet dancing in my mind




Susan’s poems and fiction are on Eastown Fiction, Tryst 3, Word Salad, Pens On Fire, Ken *Again, Hackwriters, and Hurricane Press. In 2007, she won the grand prize for poetry from Oneswan.