La Notte Rivelata


Scents of moonlit jasmines
and the seconds seem to pause
as if in suspension,
memories swirl,
feet feeling light
like being transported,
back to midsummer darkness,
to long ago
when my sandals
would walk the path of pebbled stones and dirt,
sided by white-ironed gates,
encircled by vines of gelsomino
leading the way,
tempting me to follow,
to come along
and be staggered
by the sharpened smell of salt
and breezy chills that slice across the warm air,
stumble on the sandy cliffs,
lift my eyes from the dim chaos of rocks
and witness
the path lighted before me,
across the silent waves
ending beneath the golden moon

          and there it was,
          the sad music of humanity