Turin Poem by Jason Palmer

Alps from on high
One can view as
Your flight swoops on Turin
Clear views, pure colours
A mixed city, old and new
Jostle side by side
The long straight roads new
And old buildings, battle for space

Discount supermarkets
Traditional boutiques, pastry, ham, ice cream, leather working shops
Down alleys one can glimpse
Ttraditional squares, sheets hung
To dry, people gossip on
The balcony, in the park, in the shops

Churches are not drab, puritan affairs here
But gilded jewellery boxes, incense in the air
Uplifting solo singing lifts the eye past art of the ages
In praise of god

Large Tower near one church reminds us
Of Saracan raiding and inter-state warfare of Italy.

Bars where you stand, with pastries for sale
Very Italy

Alps in the distance
An ever present monument to nature
Flashing a leg of attraction
At the open eye of those new to a place

Whose eyes feast upon each new experience

The awkwardness of a new language but
Confident in not being the first tourist
Friendly smils and nods, from
Taxier, hotelier, waiter and all