At the Indian Mounds of the Serpent and the Sun
Embedded in the ruins of Rome
the strollers lead their daily lives
the length of the Via Veneto.
Romans and their broken past
shape an unbroken present.
But here the houses form a ring,
turning their backs,
imprisoning the Serpent and the Sun.
No spirits can escape to live again,
circled as they are, and ignored.
Lari Smith
Natchez, Mississippi