zaterdag 10 september 2011

Pompeii

guided tour
children gather
around a stray dog

For what was once a bakery, grinding stones and a brick oven are recognizable. In Lupanare, the largest of about 25 brothels in Pompeii ("lupa" is Latin for 'prostitute'), we walk through rooms with plain brick beds. We see houses and public baths, admire frescoes and floor mosaics. 
We stand silently before showcases with the casts of bodies that have remained from that time; a man with bent legs, a clearly pregnant woman on hands and knees.
A half hour before closing time, most tourist groups are gone. It is quiet and peaceful in Pompeii. In the distance the Vesuvius is drawn against a bright late afternoon sky. How will I be able to realize that everything here -houses, streets, squares, people and animals-, was buried under a thick layer of ash and pumice for centuries?

coins
the bottom
of a fountain


[in 2010 verschenen op Haibun Today]

2 opmerkingen:

  1. Hello Marleen,
    I am glad that you came back with a new blog.
    Warm greetings.
    Jacek M.

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  2. I am definitely glad to be blogging again, thank you for your kindness, Jacek.

    best wishes, Marleen

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