Veni, vidi, ivi (poem)

[Ehab Lotayef]

Veni, vidi, ivi*

Caesar bought the senate vote

Survived the ides of March without a scratch

 

Dressed in black
commoners took to the streets
armed with metal bars
iPods, digital cameras and cell phones

Off “The People’s Square”
cars turned into dust

 

American travellers
--baptized in red wine--
worship pasta gods
and fall asleep outside the Vatican walls

 

Jesus never came to Rome!

 

Baroque figures guard the “Trevi Fountain”

“Toss a coin
and surely you‘ll return”

 

How many coins did Caesar toss?

How many lives
did he sacrifice?

 

After today,
will Jesus ever come to Rome?

 

--

Ehab Lotayef

Rome, December 14, 2010

 

*"I came, I saw, I went". Dec. 10th to 15t in Rome.  On the 14th demonstrators brought the city to a standstill as Silvio Berlusconi survived a non confidence vote in the Parliament. Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lotayef/RiotsInRome#
http://picasaweb.google.com/lotayef/RomeAtLast27YearsLate#