Why so sad?

Venice is sinking.

No more will a gondola
ferry lovers huddled
below the gunnels,
trolling through the city
of romantic attachment

Where Casanova
plied his trade
most capably,
not just with words,
but with other acts
of lips and tongues

The millennia
of competent bridges
will allow passage
of liquid roads
above not below

Canals sluicing
in grand manner
across doorways
unwelcome, yet
accustomed to egress

Cobblestones
will spout green algae
unseen in murky
rising tides

A city reclaimed
by its element
of elegant decay,
and longtime lagoon dwellers
of architecture and artistry
will simply float away,
unanchored to
the wooden moorings
of home.

Today is a year
since last she left,
perhaps
it crossed my mind…
but,
Venice is sinking.