Poetry from Sicily: In Ogni Paese

 

In every paese, there is an energy

filled with the spirit of young & old paesani

Every paese has its old palazzi,

a Chiesa Madre held together

by the tenacity of the parish priest.

In every paese, children run to catechism

bounding, yelling and jumping

as youthful innocence and impatience do.

Every paese has its drunks, mad men, fools

buttane, delinquente as it has its

professore, avvocati, mamme e sindaci

In every paese there is a

Peter Pan, Bar del Corso,

a smoke filled Tabaccheria

a Piazza 24 aprile,

 monumento ai caduti

 e santi patroni.

Every paese is haunted by the ghosts

 of those who die or never returned,

 from dead Mafiosi,

 to abandoned children,

 poveracci and

 Saraceni who were exiled

 from their home.

In every paese, there are one-eyed peasants

who will blindly love their village

captured by a certain forgotten magic

even if the paese is gradually decaying and crumbling

they see the beauty of their youth

and a life passing by,

without acknowledging the blight.

Every paese is filled with the desperation,

tears and joy of many lives lived

side by side for eternity.

In ogni paese, Sicilians live with the delusion

they have eternal life

a myth their history leads them to believe.

This original poem is part of my first poetry zine a collection of ten poems inspired by Sicily.

Trinacria Poetry is now available on Amazon.