He studied the plan & proportions
of every worthy ruin in Rome,
forgot to eat, daydreaming
weights & wheels, time
& motion. He made ends meet
by setting precious stones
while pondering the Pantheon–
no rest until he’d sketched
each arch & temple’s gird, hinge
& dovetail. Unprepossessing uomo,
nothing much to look at,
he joked with other artisans,
but figured out in secret
how to vault the Duomo.
Hilary Sideris is the author of two chapbooks, The Orange Juice Is Over (Finishing Line Press) and Baby (Pudding House Press). Her poems have recently appeared in Barrow Street, Big City Lit, Brooklyn Review, Confrontation, Connecticut Review, and The Normal School. She lives in Brooklyn, and works as a staff developer for The City University of New York.
*Photo courtesy of Rennett Stowe.