The Ghosts of Tuscany

I slept until the sun insisted

I gathered my indolent bones and
joined the living. Then
too late for breakfast or
brunch, I settled
for the dregs of an ancient coffee
maker, cream cheese smeared
on a leftover bagel
(about as much as a hangover
could stomach.)

From the rented balcony of a run down villa
we were calling home that summer
I gazed across the rolling hills
to the cragged peaks that separated
those hardy northerners from 
the foppish cousins of the south;
considered the centuries
lost but never surrendered
holding on to independence--
Verrazzano, da Vinci, Galilei,
the divine Alighieri--
how we owed a debt far greater
than any fistful of lira
we'd leave behind in our stumbling wake.

Off in the distance, I listened to
my companions returning
from some haphazard excursion,
shouting for me to join them
on the terrace for another round
of the local vintage, 'water
for the soul,' the old caretaker had cautioned us
shortly after we arrived.

Later, that evening
once the sun slipped away,
I drifted off
to lie in the arms
of a lonely signora:
the gentlest of breezes
our shared language
for the emptiness we carried
in our bones.

Ken e Bujold

© 2022

Author's Note

not sold on the title but it's good enough for a working one for now

Reviews

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Ken… my father’s family was from Hungary. They all spoke Hungarian; however, they had the name Pantili. Although they migrated perhaps 85 years ago, I was born in West Virginia, USA
They arrived via the Statue of Liberty as they did in those days. I always wondered ( how much of my genes were Italian, because of the name Pantili.
I Believe Tuscany is known for Lovers and Country Living as well as Cooking. gently, Pat

[Ken e Bujold]

yes Pat it is a lovely country, known for lovers cooks, and poets, and the women are indeed beautiful. more than 3 decades since the summer described in this poem but I still remember as though only yesterday
thanks for the visit

[Patricia Wedel]

I will now thank you for your review… I just wanted to review one of your poems first.. Nine pm here in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA (by the Rappahannock River). Pat

[Ken e Bujold]

well thank you again Pat, drop by any time, the candle's always lit and there's a chair by the fire. Can't say the reading will always be to your taste, but if you don't like the one you find, don't fret there will another along anytime

[W. Barrett Munn]

Tuscany is not a ghost but a spirit, and once enshrined in one’s soul haunts forever.
Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

very well put Winston

[Lathen Griffiths]

I thought it a wonderful title and was intrigued all the way through, your lines about ‘those hardy northerners’ and the ‘foppish cousins of the south’ made me chuckle because it has much relevance with the feeling across different parts of the UK…

Lathen

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the review Lathen, glad u enjoyed it and I will note that's one vote for the working title