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…

Seraphim

I was working on revising a poem I’d written many years ago, which reflects on the nature of human nature and language. The poem titled A Babel of words uses the biblical story of the tower of babel from Genesis as a metaphor for the over-reaching ambitious nature of humanity.   I’ve been obsessed with…

My Sicily: a poem

What is Sicily to me? There are hundreds of Sicilies. An island of hundred faces. like the tale of Medusa who becomes more elaborate at every retelling. Singing like Rosa Balistreri with an emotional strength pouring out the tears in an overflowing stream. A song of Sicily’s poverty, her beauty, with her insatiable energy, the…

My Grandmother’s eyes

In the mirror there I can’t see myself.  I see my grandmother’ eyes looking back at me  and remember how I made them cry. She is the strongest person I know  and in one mad moment, thinking of myself  I made her weep. I was distracted worrying about overweight baggage  and departure times  I forgot…

Poetry inspired by Sicily: Sicilian DNA

  I live in Sicily because I fell in love with a Sicilian, but in reality, the love affair existed long before … I’ve been enamoured since birth,  Italy is imprinted on my DNA, my family and heritage has always been here connected to this place of endless human history my love of stories keeps…