After Reading a John Ashbery Poem on a Terrace Outside of Castellina in Chianti

After reading a John Ashbery poem on a terrace outside of Castellina in Chianti,

She said: “…L’Imperatore è nudo…”.

The summer was over,

And Bougainvillea leaves littered the garden path in phrases of red light.

I said nothing,

And kept listening to a pale sparrow out in the darkening vineyard.