A DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF VENICE
BACINO DI SAN MARCO
From the Daniele’s restaurant terrace,
a bride and groom watch a shower of rain,
against the deep blue of the sky, approach
from the Adriatic, fall on the Lido,
San Lazzaro, La Giudecca, become
a foil for San Giorgio Maggiore,
La Dogana, La Salute, disappear
out of sight, somewhere over the lagoon.
As the late afternoon sun glows on wet
marble and the monogamous swifts return,
the man exclaims, ‘What a view we’ve got!,’
but the woman, ‘The light!’
