I Love the Statues in This Town

I love the statues in this town.

One figure is seated; another stands.

A horse tramples a serpent down.

One holds a book, another a hero's lance.

Women sit, minding children in their shade,

While pigeons forage round their feet for seed.

They, unlike human beings, hold

Their position,

a single pose for ever.

More and more statues. Humble, unpretentious,

Or full of self-importance, they prevail.

The thicket of stone people grows more dense.

One holds an apple; another holds a scroll;

And yet another holds a level...

I saunter

Among the statues, and guilt overwhelms me.

This one wrote something; this one was an inventor;

And this one, long ago, even founded a city!