Enga mellom fjella

Casalesi

Casalesi

In their downcast eyes,
from their hardening of hearing,
no one knows why the old man lost at solitaire
in a spray of gunfire.
He lost his voice to tell us himself.

Within shadowed walls,
eyes watch, they see all, hear all, say nothing.
They know who has paid the pizzo,
who has not
and who will pay with his life.

In the dark, a young boy's eyes
learn to cloak fear, to harden the heart.
Along the Via della Pace
no one knows what he saw, what he heard:
the face of his uncle, his grandfather's voice,
and the spray of gunfire.

© 2008 Kåre Enga [165.344] 2008-11-16

This came out of an article about the Casalesi in Italy: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_re_eu/eu_italy_bloodied_south More can be found by googling casalesi or ndrangheta. I changed the facts, added some imagination and came up with a poem. (there is a Via della Pace btw) I wrote it while at the 'Second Wind' poetry reading last night which went fairly well.

ME:

Bought my ticket today. I leave Monday night the 24th, arrive Tuesday in Monroe, Washington, return Friday. It cost $132. Which is $34 less than when I checked two weeks ago. Greyhound has come back with a bit of a 7-day-in-advance discount. Still not as low as last year when the trip cost half.

I bought underwear! Yay! Myrt was going to Wal*Mart on the far side of town to buy oranges so I went with her. I got 14 pair of underwear for $12 which means I can throw out anything that's ripped or torn or use them as rags. I also bought a long sleeved black shirt for $9 (clearance). I don't like spending money on clothes, so I think I did good.

I wore a turtle neck today: orange and maroon (bits of rose, green and blue). It's a mix of mohair, nylon, polyester and wool. Very soft. Made in Italy. Benetton. The cost? $0. I found it abandoned at the Salvation Army dumpster last night; it's in excellent condition. I have a fondness for wools and silks.

Went to see pictures of Peru at Walter's tonight. Had to walk all of two blocks. With my new turtleneck, I didn't even have to wear a coat.

It was mild and sunny today. Beautiful weather and I took a walk along the river to the Orange Street bridge and then back again along the north side.

So ... my day went fairly well.

Montana: 39º at 21:00.

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