I opened the front door to my abode
As I do at morns, for a breath,
Greeting sunbeams, to penetrate
The living room and my skin.

I went further and opened the gate
To my garden, the feeling was strange
I had forgotten, the frenzy
Of having to be places, see people,

Walked my way to the train station
Under the morning sun hit by cold wind
Colours never seemed, as intense
Odours as enveloping the song of birds

As enchanting, no human at sight
A quasi-apocalyptic scenery, though one
Where Earth was not destroyed and nature
Not even slightly bothered, by our absence.

At the heart of Rome a desert highlighted
Its beauty, the eternal city, the open-air museum
Did not miss the cars, the traffic, the din
Of klaxons, the cursing drivers, the littering ill-

Mannered, the clocks beating
A frantic rhythm, causing its heart to fail
On the contrary it was playing
A peaceful melody made of breeze

Rustling leaves from Judas trees,
Pink and white, flowers carpeting the streets.

[Featured photo: Empty Rome, April 2020 – sky24]