The back of my eyelids—a dark movie screen—
Flickers bright with a long-lost dream:
A perfect painting, chiseled beauty,
Of pastel architecture cascading
Through mountainous greenery,
Down, down to the crystal sea.
Suddenly I’m there, on the cobblestone streets,
With the shining walls and the drizzling heat,
Rolling, in an effervescent sheen,
With the laughter in the soft breeze
And the aroma of melting mozzarella cheese,
Down, down to the Tyrrhenian sea.
Amalfi’s famous charm, both grand and exotic:
High-fashion prances and white doves frolic,
Daffodil sundresses sway in the wind,
White stucco reflects the sun on my skin,
Tucked-away art galleries lure me in
And embrace me, as though a living mosaic.
Once upon the promenade,
The dandelion sun gleams
as bright as lemonade
On tanned bodies,
as they pass by
in a glossy
shine.
Licking ice cream
and sipping red wine—
My feet waltz the entire time,
Led by the silver bells chimes,
Down, down
to the glistening water
Where the city
embraces Neptune’s daughter—
They swirl and twirl
under a ravishing gold,
Then pirouette and fold
Onto the gravelly
sand, as I’m told,
“Come, come, and
never grow old!”
In I wade, and they paint my soul
To a crystalized mural—
My body weightless, my heart full,
I gaze with a wonder-filled renewal
Upon the great city of
sculpted
marble
As it trickles
down,
down
to the
liquid jewel.
What a sweet, sweet ideal,
If only for a moment
to feel
Beauty—
Under the holy name of Amalfi,
I long to wake her with me
Up, up from the ancient
crystal
sea.
My eyes
open to a cold,
dusky room
In a silence of
dull and gloom
But, if I listen carefully…
A wisp of
the golden breeze!
And a splash of
jewelled dreams!
And a sweet voice still singing:
La Dolce Vita—
