Home And Variations

Turkish Engraving Were they wrong about decline, those men Who etched in copper urbane scenes ?ÊThese plates Of coffeehouses, streets, the marketplace, Interstices of life, should these condemn Their makers, who saw days fill up with talk And trade, backgammon, dark flirtatious eyes, Hands nimbly plucking strings to song - all while They knew the armies fled the field, exports dropped, And rats' feet crept on dozing tramps down by the quays? Perhaps they felt the measure of decay Too large to matter much. Each, in his way Could capture pleasures, living privately. Good coffee steams in our cafÉs and we, like them, Hide hunger for solutions from our friends.Archambeau, Robert is the author of 'Home And Variations', published 2004 under ISBN 9781844710492 and ISBN 1844710491.