Rosa in Montefiorino*

And as I awake
I rise in a land 
Of rose-flushed jays
Flowing red wine
Undulating fells
Russet-hued scarps
Gambolling gazelles

And as I awake
Blushed by Aurora
I rise from the Rocca:
Refuge of the free
Of martyred souls
Bloody battles won
Bastion of liberty

And as I awake
Perfumed by flowers
Cushioned by meadows
I reach for the sun
Now rising in the East 
And leave the dry ‘Dragon’*
Strewn around my feet

And as I awake
To this primal morn
Chimed by poplar trees
Singing cicadas
Heart-shaped leaves
I embrace the first dew
And gently stride forth


                               Costa di Morsiano, Villa Minozza, Italy, 3 Oct 2008


* Rosa is an allusion to Rosa Luxemburg who stood for social justice and 
freedom of thought and actions. She was brutally murdered then her body 
was thrown into a canal and was not found for many months. The Rocca at
 Montefiorino was where the first Communist Republic was declared in 
1944. ‘La Dragone’ is the name of the river below.