Poem – FOR MEDICINAL USE ONLY (By Ray Gallucci)

 

FOR MEDICINAL USE ONLY

 

 

When Medici once ruled the roost,

To Renaissance they gave a boost

In Florence, town of Tuscany,

By prompting minds to wander free.

 

To God no longer gave their vow,

But Greeks and Romans lured them now.

Upon their pedestals, the saints

By art and science were replaced.

 

Giovanni, patriarch began

This quite opportunistic clan.

And Cosimo, the chosen son,

Saw Brunelleschi’s dome begun.

 

Lorenzo, heir to Cosimo,

Encouraged Michelangelo.

Da Vinci, too, gained his ascent

From Medici’s artistic bent.

 

Savonarola, crazy monk,

Then foisted his religious bunk

Upon a Florence “steeped in sin;”

“God’s victory” he had to win.

 

“Bonfires of the Vanities”

Purged Florence of the Medicis,

Till Church decided monk and fame

Were best immortalized in flame.

 

Surprise!  The Medici returned,

And Papacy they once had spurned

Became their power base alone

When son Lorenzo’s took the throne.

 

Corrupt as those who’d gone before,

Pope Leo lost when on a door

A monk named Luther nailed his gripes,

And Reformation sprang to life.

 

Then brother Clement got the chance

To Papally condemn the pranks

Of one King Henry Number Eight

Who married at alarming rate.

 

But under Clement Rome was sacked

By enemies he hardly lacked.

But Medicis weren’t finished yet –

Niece Catherine a king had met.

 

As France’s queen, she seemed fulfilled

By poems that Nostradamus quilled.

Alas, her offspring withered out,

And family seemed to lose its clout.

 

But back in Florence rose anew

A scientific genius who

Received the Medici’s support

When summoned by the Papal court.

 

And though they forced him to repent,

No work of Galileo went

Forgotten by his following

Who science modern ushered in.

 

The Renaissance had run its course.

But history’s not the only source

Through which we have their legacy –

Great works wrought by the Medici!

 

(Published in DANA LITERARY SOCIETY ONLINE JOURNAL, March 2005)

 

Author Bio:



I am a Professional Engineer who has been writing poetry since 1990. I am an incorrigible rhymer, tending toward the skeptical/cynical regarding daily life. I have been fortunate to have been published in poetry magazines and on-line journals such as NUTHOUSE, MOTHER EARTH INTERNATIONAL, FEELINGS/POETS’ PAPER, MÖBIUS (when Jean Hull Herman published), PABLO LENNIS, MUSE OF FIRE, SO YOUNG!, THE AARDVARK ADVENTURER, POETIC LICENSE, THUMBPRINTS, UNLIKELY STORIES, BIBLIOPHILOS, FULLOSIA PRESS, NOMAD’S CHOIR, HIDDEN OAK, PABLO LENNIS, POETSESPRESSO, SOUL FOUNTAIN, WRITER’S JOURNAL, ATLANTIC PACIFIC PRESS, DERONDA REVIEW, LYRIC, THE STORYTELLER, WRITE ON! and DANA LITERARY SOCIETY.