“God’s Rat” and Other Poems

 

 

GOD’S RAT

“Fattig som en kirkerotte” *

Not so poor as a church mouse,
though possessing not one house.
Rather richer than most men,
for he can give more than them.
In fact, well-contented, fat,
like the best cathedral rat,
now starts bargaining with God.
Gets away with your salvation,
in return for… cancellation!

 

* Danish: Poor as a church mouse)

 
 
 

UNWILLING AWAKING FROM FINLAND

To All Those Who Were There

Departure was sadder than expected.
We had only been together for days:
yet the stillness of the landscapes,
the silence of the snow, the dormant
creeks of ice, the trees like phantom
armies, the fires-of-the-fox that lit
the skies one night… made us listen
for a change in our weary hearts.

Departure, much sadder than expected.
Now having to return to another world,
as if reluctantly awaking from a dream,
trying to postpone the actual lifting
of eyelids that were happier elsewhere.
And now the only remedy are memories,
of a joke, someone’s laughter, a smile,
of a sentence that struck a deep chord.

Yes, departure was almost like a
death…

 
 
 

EVAPORATIVE EVANESCENCE

On mornings like this one,
I long to come and drink,
from lips that are not mine,
the morning dew, and then
– myself a dew by now –
in tepid morning rays,
to slowly waft away…

 
 
 

HELSINKI, THROUGH THE BLIND VENETIAN

To Mirja L.

We visit cathedrals of granite and silence.
Icebreakers, compliant, display all their might.
Unlikely a hospital that saw your son’s birth.
Majestic buildings imported from times far away,
other countries, perhaps from another dimensions.

Worshippers wonder at importune appearances.
On the snowy steps, afterwards, a lingering smell
of incense, of other cathedrals and snows.
Too early a jazz club, deserted, your absent friend
who plays in the band, a chain we have to replace.

The northern lights – revontulet – obliging,
repeat their encore performance, in the private
skies of your house. (You must have arranged it…)
Have I been dreaming, sleep-walking, or glancing
– blind – through the blind?

 
 
 

RECOGNAISSANCE FLIGHT

At five-to-one a.m. the geese are landing noisily.
Trying to imagine who is lulling you to sleep,
I feel I should be awake and watching over you.
Then I fly over, furtively, skimming the North Sea
with icy feathers, avoiding detection by the enemy.
Finding that West Jutland sleeps tranquil in the snows,
a swift return to base, my mission well accomplished.

 
 
 

OF DOORS

“Too little / has been said / of the door …”
Charles Tomlinson, “The Door”

Charles, I’m quite in agreement with you:
not enough has been said about doors,
and even much less has been written.

Yet it is, after all, through doors
that we come and go every day;
we continually arrive and depart;
in’n’out, on’n’off, Enter and Exeunt.

Doors are meant to keep out the wind,
and keep in our quiet and peace;
to keep out the raging of hurricanes,
and keep in our restless souls.

Worst of all – shutting – they shatter
our weary hearts into smithereens!

 

Copyright © 2010-2013 Guido Comin – Belluno, Italy. All rights reserved.

 
 
 

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7 commenti su ““God’s Rat” and Other Poems

  1. Anonimo ha detto:

    So young i was that day but forget i never will regents park is such a nice place regards Guido and Barbara.

    • Anonimo ha detto:

      Hello, dear Anonymous!!

      I could venture to guess who you are, with all that information you gave us… 😉

      I trust you’re all well, and would love to call you, one of these days, if I may! (I have a Skype international PC-2-phone sub.)

      Warmest regards from Treviso, Italy.

      Guid:o)

  2. Barbara (from Australia) ha detto:

    I looked at your lovely poems and photos last night. It will be marvellous to stay in touch after all this time
    Love
    Barbara

    • PoetaPazz:o) ha detto:

      Thank you, Barbara!! I hope the libraries don’t close too early, downunder…? It will indeed be wonderful to be have a contact, once again!
      Hugs from Italy.

  3. PoetaPazzo ha detto:

    Thank YOU, for reading them, dear Marie!! I’m glad that you enjoyed them. Being sad is part of Life, alas! But it does help in making us appreciate more the joyous moments… A big, warm hug from cold and snowy Italy. :O)

    • PoetaPazzo ha detto:

      An afterthought: perhaps you can try and channel your sad feelings into poetry!? I have written some of my best pieces just when I was going through some of my lowest lows… ;-]

  4. Marie ha detto:

    Thank you for your poems. I enjoyed them very much though I am sad today.

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