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.
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