The Final Leg of John Keats’ Journey to Death
[John Keats, in case you didn’t know already, died of TB when he was very young. In a desperate attempt to save his life, his friends subscribed money to send him to live in Italy. This ploy failed and he died anyhow. Only one of the friends, Joseph Severn, the artist, could accompany him on this trip and stay with him as he was dying in an apartment on the Spanish Steps in Rome. Here is a pair of sonnets about the final leg of this journey to the Eternal City. I think the first poem is rather flat, except PERHAPS for the double entendre in the final line.]
A rented carriage, emblematic of
Their bodies, took the healthy one and Keats
Towards Rome. The failing poet stayed above,
Inside, while Severn tossed up to the seats
Late wildflowers from the Appian Way.
This friend in desperation pointed out
Some water buffalos in the display
Of blossoms picked along their final route.
The walking man called Keats’ attention to
The vineyards, and the autumn fields, the white
Of villages they were traveling through, drew
Keats’ eyes to distractions, however slight.
The steaming hills these two men suffered, though,
Most likely caused Keats’ passing lungs to glow.
At Terracina, entering through its gate,
They passed a ruined Roman villa with just
Its pillars still remaining, then rode straight
Past sacredness and came upon disgust:
Eleventh-century holiness of church
Was followed by their sighting of a priest
In scarlet robes, a sight which made them lurch
In horror since this cardinal increased
His thrills that afternoon by shooting prey,
The songbirds he duped with a flashy trick.
A mirror on a tied owl’s neck gave play
To killing other feathered creatures. Sick.
Then came some bleached white horse’s bones and worse,
Bandits hanged. The rig felt more like a hearse.
…………….Joseph Severn: portrait of John Keats dying