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Showing posts from May, 2019

Momentary Blindness 3

The sound of traffic racing on wet pavement, cars honking, and several trucks backing up filled the space.  As I began to listen more closely to my immediate surroundings, my body was taken away from the business of the city.  I noticed rushing water gushing through a metal pipe to the surface below.  The beautiful sound of birds singing and the fluttering of small wings distracted me from the rushing water.  I began to realize that this was one of the few moments spent in Rome where I couldn't hear anyone talking.  I was very thankful for the lack of feeling constantly surrounded by people, it brought me ease.  I placed my hand on the rough concrete ledge, as a cold breeze grazed the right side of my neck, slightly brushing my damp hair across my face.  Droplets of rain rolled down my back and brought a shiver down my spine.  My skin was sticky due to the thick humidity wafting around me, and I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable in my rain-soaked clothes.  The heat from the

Ekphrasis 2

At first glance, the eyes move across the body through the arms of the figure which create a lightning bolt flow.  Tracing from the right arm across her breasts, to her hand which slightly grazes her left arm, down the left from her stomach to her covered center.  From her center, we follow to her fingertips, which rest high on her right thigh.  At this point, the eyes move down her right leg which is slightly bent, allowing you to perceive the curvature of her tall thin structure.  Down her left calf to her foot, the heel is lifted from the base, her toes pointed to the right, her left foot pointed in your direction as you first enter the octagonal room.  The bottom half of the marble statue of the figure rests gently next to a marble vase with smooth linens across its top, allowing the statue some sense of stability.  The linens drape down the vase, with thin fringes hanging from the bottom.  The large center of the vase protrudes under the linens, with vertical lines tracing down it

Voyeur 2

As I took a seat on the edge of the fountain, (I guess sitting on fountain edges is my thing now), I began to watch as hundreds of people passed me by.  A man with a beard covering the majority of his face, wearing a blue polo tucked into his beige khakis, with black race car sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, approached the fountain.  He seemed to be an ordinary tourist, but the worried expression on his face struck me.  When he turned around and found who he was looking for, a smile across his face stretched from ear to ear.  His newlywed wife wrapped her arms around his back and rested her cheek against his shoulder to comfort her spouse.  The two were spending their honeymoon in the vibrant and romantic city of Rome.  They seemed to be a little old to be newlywed, but I could feel the love radiating off of them.  These people were meant to find each other, especially because they were so alike.  They turned around with their backs to the obelisk in the center and began s

Momentary Blindness 2

While sitting on the edge of the Fontana del Nettuno, I first began to listen to the noises of the Piazza.  Immediately I began to notice the sound of gushing water, not only the sound of water flowing but also the sound of water hitting a surface of more water.  Almost like a waterfall, but not nearly as intense.  I soon began to hear birds ca-cawing, as well as the sound of birds fluttering within my proximity.  While the sounds of an accordion filled my ears, I tried to listen closely to the people around me; I listened to men arguing about a picture, to salesmen trying to push their object onto tourists like me, to small children yelling and laughing.  The space was filled with countless languages, I could make out the obvious, Italian, and the occasional English, with just a little touch of French.  The constant clicking of camera's for some reason struck me.  Then I decided to focus on what I could feel.  A light breeze brushed against my neck and through my hair, spraying w