-- for Vinnie Ventura
Amigo, we stand before the altar
in the circle of sand, saying
“sky, wind, sea,” picturing
a mountain of gleaming fish
bogging down our little boats.
Fish will be eager for the net,
though the season grows short,
and we will not sleep,
but fish even by moonlight.
But Amigo, have we yet known
a waking moment?
We have existed in a museum of a kind;
Think of dead fish, dead birds,
pottery – the shape of dust
shaped by hands long joined
with dust.
Think of desire, amigo,
of images – the flimsy shelter of
our lives.
Do you hear the wind
Knocking at the door?
Amigo, let us do what we can,
for it is already twilight,
and the sea never stops calling.
— Rocco Lo Bosco
