Sport 40: 2012
Pope Alexander VI prepares his benediction
12 September: Galleria Doria Pamphilj, Rome
Pope Alexander VI prepares his benediction
The diamonds are pulverised;
the bear has had his arsenic.
The dinner guests are due
at eight. What did not work
at lunchtime will not fail
at supper. No need for the blade’s
straight talk; the stomach
is the place to set up roadblocks
to the heart. In circulation
my plan proceeds its round-
about way. I am death’s diplomat,
sugaring the inevitable with my
glittering tongue. So now the brilliant
goblet’s filled, swift passage guaranteed
to those who’ll drink my health
tonight; they shall be taken care of.