‘Imperfection is in some sort essential to all that we know in life.
THE STONES OF VENICE John Ruskin
Many things are forbidden in Venice:
sitting on the steps in St Mark’s Square;
hailing water taxis from water bus pontoons;
putting out food waste except on the hook
provided between the designated hours
in order to deter gabbiani;
of which there are two species, compatriots,
the black-headed gull and the herring gull,
comune and reale respectively,
‘common’ and ‘royal’ surprisingly,
perched opportunely on bricole,
the stout oak posts that have always marked
the lagoon’s few navigable channels,
or raucous overhead, out of sight, a
remembrance of home, above the still canals,
the silent alleyways.
By David Selzer