Totem

“Totem Walk” by Emily Carr

ancestral angels

administer secretly

animist sacraments

pointing out paths

of safe passage

through ritual

hewn iconography

boldly inscribes

old growth timber

staid canvas to render

stark creatures of

natural affinity

open-eyed spirit-guides

give of their tutelage

mystical descants

morality tales convey

wisdom that whispers

with linear memory

granting permission

for transit of time

across thresholds

of forest and future

permission who

cries to keep faith

with tradition

indigenous values

ennobling descendants

of kith kin and clan

tribal citizens worthy

of mother earth’s gifts

and possessed with the

mettle of warrior kings

“Gitwinkool Totem Poles” by Emily Carr

 

Malocchio

“Malocchio” by Erhard Paskuda

grandma’s kitchen

immaculate white

painted cupboards

and wainscoting

dangling my little

boy legs from her

oversized praying

chair under the

lachrymose gaze

of an heirloom

carved crucifix

crackle-glazed dish

of fine faience

at rest on my lap

water filling its low

shallow purposeful

bowl as she spoons

on its surface a

single gold drop

holy chrism oil

watching the shape

of its motion for signs

of insidious evil eye

known in my clan

as malocchio

whether by doom or

design may have

glanced at me

staining my inchoate

soul with misfortune

she softly incants

that most magical

ancient arrangement

of words whose

prescription dispels

the dread curse

then reciting our

prayers in a song of

duet grandma lays

devout thumbs to my

brow makes the ritual

sign of the cross

and I know in my heart

I am once again safe

and re-purified

(This comes from my last lingering memory of my maternal grandmother, Maria Gaetana Scarlatelli DeTore, who passed when I was but a lad of six years old. She was a saintly sweet bulldog, steeped in her Roman Catholic faith and the cultural traditions and superstitions of her native Italian village. A most beloved and relentless guardian of the souls of her very large brood of children and grandchildren.)

Retail Politics

“Home in New Hampshire”
Painting by William Glackens
From galeriidearte.blogspot.com

(Regarding New Hampshire’s cherished “first in the nation” primary election campaign season)

eye to eye heart to heart

and inevitably one on one

toe to toe nose to nose

not a gladhand or grandstand in sight

free to speak of one’s mind

over pancakes and coffee

it’s here on the stump

in these plain savvy precincts

where scrutiny up close and intimate

gauges the mettle of those who would govern

they come here to listen as much as to talk

in small gatherings void of shrill soundbites

in informal parlors and storefronts

around kitchen tables on streetcorners

voters and candidates trading opinions

examining national issues in light of

the localized personal prisms of citizens

living their time and their place

with their own self-held notions

of how things should be

every pol runs this gauntlet

through biting cold north country weather

and no-nonsense dialogue

endures its discomforts and finds in the end

that it makes them the better

for having been honest informed

Bouquinistes

“Les Bouquinistes”
Painting by Serge-Henry Lupano
From artmajeur.com

five hundred years of tradition
small bookseller stalls that shoulder
the Seine giving onto the reverence
of gothic ecclesiast Ile de la Cite
coexistent the sacred and secular

antiquarian folios second-hand
pamphlets the lightly and heavily
thumbed hardback paperback leather
bound labors of scribblers and
cultural prodigies authors of fame
and obscurity voices of time

every literate language on hand to
present with its own view of history
offer up insights perspectives on how
the world failed or succeeded from
courses men charted the romance
adventure and chronicled conflicts of
human existence the struggles of mind
against puzzles and passions as penned
when the thoughts of each writer were
fresh and their prejudice yet immature

this and more is in store in those plain
oblong boxes attached to the ancient
stone walls overhanging the quays
pray the future will give them another
five hundred years of tradition

La Befana

La Befana Doll
Photo from sarahrusselldolls.com

rides her broom
across rooftops
dropping sweet figs
upon children of Rome
sigillaria signify magi
mysterious gifts
present human
dimensions of deity
wizened old woman
misled from a manger
takes up the windsong
sweeps clean absolution
through sins yet unborn
rustic faith cleanses
hearth and heart
here where tradition
coheres with epiphany
bridgework that carries
a reverent culture
from old world to new

Pieces of Wine

“Neo-Cubism”
Tile Painting by Robert Lyn Nelson
From pacificatileart.com

a deep swimming sense
of belonging to culture
to history cleanses me

Mediterranean
empire and renaissance
father and mother

the martial red grape
the esthetic green globe
twin vines of my blood

vital vintages yield
the spine and the soul
of a civilized west

rich in letters and arts
liquescent science slakes
intellectual thirst

faiths practiced in goblets
grace pagan and Christian
altarcloth meals

stains drift from the past
come to rest upon tongues
that tincture the future

ideas formed in fragments
assemble themselves into
savory ancestries

liquid stitches of time
binding Caesars to Medici
ferment my history

leaving me merely a swatch
at the edge of a quilt set with
cups of tradition

Stinking Rose

“Head of Garlic”
Painting by Julian Merrow-Smith
At shiftinglight.com

most precious of bulbs
when sautéed in olive oil
infuses my blood

La Passeggiata

“La Passeggiata”
Painting by Alessio Vladimirovitch Issupoff
From artvalue.com

in those warm dusking hours
before Italy sups
her villages court the
quaint custom of centuries
families come to the square
dressed in best to impress
cut la bella figura
break off into clusters
of gents with their pals
and ladies their friends

they ease to their purpose
and stroll through the square
singing songs telling tales
sharing news of the day
embellished by gestures
that send their points home
all the while eyeing
how well they stack up
to neighbors deciding who
best wears the target of gossip

it’s the time for advice
passed from old to the young
and for sparking of romance
communally chaperoned
dozens of back and forth
passages nightly weave bonds
between homeland and hearts
beyond oceans through new
generations exerting the tug
of tradition on strollers like me

Sunday Dinner

“Chianti Bottles”
Painting by Anke Wheeler
At fineartamerica.com

Full Title: Sunday Dinner at an Italian-American Household
Subtitle: Lessons in Rhetoric – A Window on My 1950s Youth

sit down to table at noon
say grace and open the wine

l’antipasto – the appetizer
converse between bites

family updates
local news of the day
neighborhood gossip

open more wine
put records on the victrola

l’insalata – the salad
argue between bites
ethics
religion
philosophy

open more wine
spare the neighbors, shut the windows

la zuppa – the soup
argue between sips
politics
state of the union
economics

open more wine
spare the little ones, shoo them outdoors

il primo – the pasta
argue between bites
law and order
crime and punishment
corruption

open more wine
save the crystal, switch to plastic

il secondo e contorno – the meats and fishes and sidedishes
argue between bites
marriage
parenting
education

open the grappa, sambuca, anisette, limoncello, lacryma christi, amaretto
serve coffee, espresso

il dolci – the desserts
argue between bites
men vs. women
prejudice and discrimination
family responsibilities

open the brandy
bring out mandolins and guitars

la frutta e noci – fruits and figs and nuts
sing between bites
traditions
memories
the good old days

stand up at nine
kiss everyone goodnight

apologize for bad behavior
cursing in Italian
banging the table too often
throwing your napkin or bread at someone
calling someone stunato (moron) or capotosta (thick-headed)
breaking the cavatappi (corkscrew)