In the Sistine Chapel, he painted the ceiling, 
And the might of his work leaves one's senses reeling;
The first nine scenes from 'Genesis' he's done,
In the Holy Bible, it's book number one.

You can see that these centrally located scenes,
Are surrounded by Prophets and Sybils it seems;
Sitting on marble thrones, they were shown,
With other Old Testament subjects well known.

The cartoons and drawings done in preparation,
Influenced the styles of every western nation;
His great understanding of form and of movement,
Led to the world's artist's figure improvement.

For the the largest Renaissance fresco he's famed,
On the altar wall 'The Last Judgement' it's named;
And as was his wont, the figures were nude,
But later were covered, as they were thought rude.

As a sculptor his statue of Baccus is known,
Though his giant size figure of David is shown,
In the Academia in Florence, the place,
Where he painted and sculped with such style and grace.

The only work that he ever signed,
Completed when only a young man you will find,
Was the marble statue of the Pieta,
In the Basilica in Rome, named after St Peter.

As an architect too, his buildings were sound,
Done with an understanding profound;
And his greatest achievement was building the dome,
Standing over the altar of St. Peters in Rome.

The De Medici tombs were two of the few,
He built around Rome for the people he knew;
Desperately sought for by people with hopes,
He was an intimate of both Princes and Popes.

He was widely awarded the epithet 'Divine',
Because of all his achievements so fine;
He set the standard for so many parts,
This Michelangelo, 'Prince of the Arts'.

So think, if you will, of this great man with awe,
For the many achievements mentioned before;
And realise that we, who think ourselves clever,
Do not have a name that will live on forever.