Massa Marittima once a port

Or so we thought it must have been 

But now divorced from Mare Ligure 

By miles of Tuscan scenery

 

In  Borghi citta Vecchia, 

Walled and built by Pisan skill

We stood transfixed in Duomo square

At medieval time stood still 

 

Piazza Garibaldi now 

It's medieval town hall tower

Palazzo walls of pockmarked stone

Housed counts and courts and civic power 

 

Siena came with stones and swords 

To conquer, and in time subdue 

We climbed the steps to where they'd built 

A commanding fortress towered view 

 

 

The candle clock tower narrow stair, 

Part ladder took us high to see

From slopping terracotta roof 

The distant, disappearing sea. 

 

GMJ May 2017