San Marco Square mudstrewn and clogged
While gondolas bob on the waves
And tourists look on, stunned, amazed ...
Yet Acqua Alta comes and goes
Venice, no stranger to high flows
Keeps precious tomes on upper floors
While water swirls round tourist stores.
The lion of St. Mark observes
The Square - now fit for ducks, not birds!
This delta, once rich Island State
Was a trading nation in full spate.
Where the Doge, like Croesus, garnered gold
And merchants silks and spices sold
Till Magellan's sea route to the East
Made wealth to Portugal increase...
An UNESCO city now beset
By hoards of tourists, hopes unmet
Unable to stroll down main street
Without the challenge of wet feet!
(c) Poet in the woods 2019
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