The Delivery

Based on the painting Piazza d’Italia, by Giorgio de Chirico

They shook, and it was a done deal.
He would deliver the lion by train,
On a hot yellow evening
When the shadows stretched long
And the arches of the buildings
Kissed the windows, shuttered
Against the coming night.
The people prepared for the spectacle,
Flags waving gaily on the highest tower.


Plug: This poem was selected as a highlight poem by Robert Brewer! Huzzah!