The Villa in Durrës
The villa lies in shambles,
a woman ravaged, spent,
stripped of beauty, usefulness,
abandoned to lament.
Her pink veneer is peeling,
her tiles cracked and scratched.
Her floors by waters damaged,
her pergolas unthatched.
Her curves are caving in now,
her arches dipping down.
Pillaged by both sun and sea,
a queen’s corroding crown.
Her inner strength and prowess, though,
cannot be wrecked by years.
Nor can her haughty stature
evaporate her tears.
Designs of geometrics
have settled on her face.
And though unclothed with curtains
her pillars stand with grace.
Joy Nevin Axelson is the author of several published poems, devotionals, and articles. Her work has been featured in Kosmeo, Solid Food Press, Foreshadow Magazine, the Penwood Review, the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary magazine, Pure Slush, and Lutheran Digest. She holds a BA and an MA in French. In addition to being an author, she is the translation coordinator for GlobalFingerprints, the EFCA’s child sponsorship branch. Her translations of training materials are used at 12 international sites. Her website is www.joynevinaxelson.weebly.com.
Joy, this is such an excellent smoothly written poem with great entendre throughout.
Joy, your beautiful poem put me in mind of a strong, gracious elderly woman I knew, with much to offer all those around her, but she was underappreciated. She was a close friend for years, and I so enjoyed her sense of humor and wisdom and playfulness. Your excellent poem brought her memory vividly back. Thanks for sharing it.
This is beautifully done. I like the very simple and chaste meter, and unexpected phrasing like “her pergolas unthatched,” and “a queen’s corroding crown.”
This is a perfectly sustained metaphor of an old and neglected building reimagined as an aging lady. Also, although most of the poem is in trimeter, the poet has given us three lines (3, 11, and 13) that have four stresses for variation.
A very beautiful poem Joy. Thank you for sharing.
The ravages of ageing projected onto a once exotic building.
Nicely done, Nevin, doubly-so considering the relative brevity of the poem.