Laid back or laziness

                                          A laid-back life is like a breeze that moves the willow tree, It keeps you calm and gives you room to breathe and just be free. But laziness is like a fog that keeps you in your bed, It takes away the open road and leaves a cloud instead. The peaceful mind enjoys the sun and watches clouds roll past, It knows just when to take a break and when to move at last. The lazy heart forgets to plant the seeds that make us grow, And misses out on all the joy that busy people know. One is a choice to slow things down and let your spirit rest, To look around at what you have and feel that you are blest. The other is a heavy heavy weight that holds your feet in place, And keeps you from the happy path and finishes the race. So rest your bones beneath the shade when all your work is through, But do not let the sleepy dust take over all...

The Sack of Rome

Beneath a bruised and sulfur-colored sky,

The bronze gates clang, a final, iron sigh.

The papal flag hangs limp, a pious plea,

Above the crowd's dark, tide-like misery.

Within the city, fountains weep and play,

As rumors like a fever spread all day.

The painted saints upon the ceilings gaze

At earthly fear, through gilded, hazy maze.

The pious chant, the merchant counts his sum,

And wonders if the judgment day has come.

Beyond the walls, the camps are stark and wide,

Where German flags and Spanish pikes divide.

The landsknechts, starved, with eyes of bitter steel,

For months of pay their starving bellies feel.

A reeking mist of vengeful hunger hangs,

A promise of the plunder's savage pangs.

A Protestant, whose rage has found a cause,

To break the gilded city’s ancient laws.

His captain, dead, and now no law remains,

To stem the tide of anger and of pains.

The Roman night descends, a velvet drape,

Across the city, fearing its own shape.

The ancient marble shines, a ghastly white,

Reflecting back the campfires in the night.

The Colosseum, hollow, dark, and vast,

Remembers other conquerors of the past.

The Tiber's flow, a silent, knowing stream,

Reflects a broken, fading papal dream.

The city waits, its history immense,

To meet its fate with baroque reverence


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