In honor of National Poetry Month, I’m sharing a slice of poetry today. I was inspired by Mary Lee Hahn‘s “Our Wonderful Word” poetry project. Each day during the month of April, Mary Lee is writing an original poem in honor of either a man-made or natural wonder. Today’s wonder is the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
I briefly considered becoming an architect when I was in high school, and although I chose a different path, my fascination with architecture remains. Not long after reading Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King, I found Tilt: A Skewed History of The Tower of Pisa, by Nicholas Shrady. When I pulled the book off my shelf last weekend, I was struck by how much the tower looked like a wedding cake. And although I’m sure I’m not the first person to make that comparison, it was the spark I needed for this poem.
Were I to bake
a wedding cake,
festooned with frill and flower
it would list and tilt
like Pisa’s famous tower.
Each tier more precarious
than the one below,
how to keep it upright,
Heaven only knows.
Although it’s not perfection,
once topped with groom and bride,
my flour and sugar confection
will stand askew with pride.
© Catherine Flynn, 2014
Thank you, as always, to Stacey, Tara, Dana, Betsy, Anna, and Beth for hosting Slice of Life each Tuesday. Be sure to visit Two Writing Teachers to read more Slice of Life posts.
Reading to the Core 
Catherine,
I love how you compare your work of making the wedding cake and it turning out like the tower! Fun rhymes too!
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Your poem made me smile. Love the comparison to a wedding cake. I believe I will always think “wedding cake” when I see pictures of The Tower of Pisa.
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It is like a wedding cake! Perfect. Your take on Pisa reminds me of Mary Lee’s Eight Gratitudes poem.
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Beautifully done, Catherine, but what I thought of is how precarious newlyweds are at the beginning of their marriage anyway. Love it!
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What a fun poem and post. I love the comparison of the Leaning Tower of Pisa with a wedding cake. Two years ago I landed in Pisa to begin an Italian adventure. Finding the tower was quite precarious–to carry on with Linda’s analogy. I will have to live with seeing it only in photos. After 3 hours of trying to find it, my friends, who had just traveled to Pisa via NY, decided we needed to find our hotel which was still another 3 hours away. Thanks for bringing back the memory. The poem was very clever!
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What a wonderful poem. You do have a very special talent.
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Hey! I, too, considered becoming an architect when I was in high school! And yes, many of my cakes resemble this tower!!
Thanks for playing along! I linked you in on today’s post: http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2014/04/our-wonderful-world9.html
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Such rhythm and rhyme! Great work!
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I love this line: “festooned with frill and flower”
Nice alliteration
Kevin
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What a great connection between the leaning tower and the challenge of getting a cake to sit straight. That’s the story of my life!
Really enjoyed the rhythm and cadence of the first lines.
Cathy
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