I miss normalcy
or whatever she is calling herself these days
screams from the bedroom
painted pestiferous in pantomime
ripping chests open,
round and ripe
taking bullets to the throat
mouthed dialogue
indulging in delight
bloodlet and bountiful
night she looked away
I miss those echoes,
eruptions of elegance
howling euphorically, (ef)faced
dripping in yesterday's sin
naked in the eye of the Tyrrhenian sea
wave upon wave washing over, we
us, in throes of once
call out
in tongues of more
than just a humble servant
a savant unleashed in a realm of impossibility
the hymns hold it all
sing, sing, sing
the hymns hold it all
(The Appian Way was the main highway leading south
from ancient Rome. It still exists today, and is a beautiful
stretch of peaceful, traffic-free road, surrounded by Roman
tombs and umbrella pines. The following is my English
version of a sonnet by the Italian poet, Alfonso Gatto.)
Night everlasting scurries to the trees
in silence. Cold, the roadway mourns its dead,
who lie in these green verges. Sounds have fled
through air which is harmonious, at ease.
As dawn comes up, the far blue Alban Hills
swim into view through slender cypresses,
and water gurgles in its sad recesses.
Sweet place to sleep, despite the morning chills.
Here, breathe in the sweep of history.
Just ponder who has passed along these stones!
The white wind thrumming from the Tyrrhenian Sea
blows dry from Africa, exposing bones
of senators and slaves. This sacred ground
feels special, with so many dead around.
This was a commercial maritime catastrophe.
Could it happen in the twenty-first century?
Such a disaster happened off the coast of Italy.
A ship ran into the shoals of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
It happened in 2012 on the thirteenth of January.
The Costa Concordia was a modern cruise liner.
For a luxury ship, there were none that were finer.
The incident took place near the Isola del Giglio.
It was the worst event since the Achille Lauro.
More than four thousand people experienced the fiasco.
As the crippled ship rested on its starboard side,
a few passengers and crew were trapped inside.
Nearly everybody was saved, but at least twelve were lost.
Damages are estimated to be at a high cost.
How could this happen in this modern day?
We will hear a lot more, so don’t go away.
Thanks to wikipedia.org online encyclopedia and BBC News for information I obtained to write this poem.
The sunniest island,
with its Sea Stacks standing out
of the Tyrrhenian Sea,
shimmers as sailboats glide
in timeless serenity...
Paradise's duplication in man's heart.
Winter brings no drifts of snow,
only mild breezes from Sicily,
and the tourist is always on the go,
exploring, discovering and wondering
how this small island came to be...
when God stopped and began creating.
The sunniest island
with pastel houses perched on cliffs edges,
and ruins of castles and villas on rocky hills;
the loveliest island
in the Mediterranean garden...terraces
decked with common brooms and oleanders.
And as the mists vanish towards evening,
the quails are seen flying above, while the lemons'
perfume is hard to resist...the beautiful landscapes are revealed;
sail away in the bluest sea ever seen by the human's eye...
spend the starriest night gazing over its glistening waves:
a traveler's dream realized in the sunny island of Capri!
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