(un)mistaken identity
A thousand miles away, he changes a letter,
and writes my name.
It speaks softly on the page. I catch my breath
and repeat it, noticing how it ends in ah…
like a sweet sigh of release–not tongue pressed against closed teeth,
but an open sigh of relief, as if just remembering the first words
to a long forgotten lullaby–yes-the lullaby sung by my grandmother,
whose name coyly whispered ah, love knows, love knows in the ancient temples,
and by her mother, whose name messaged wisdom to generations
she would never know, delivering knowledge in seeds of wheat
and ripe plum tomatoes until it was swallowed by the sigh of the tide
and bitter winds off the shores of Ellis Island.
Ah, yes..the sighing sound of the chime’s echo escaping the church bell in Frasso Telisino,
where I shall walk tonight in my dreams, guitar slung on my back
pressing gently upon my shoulder like my grandfather’s guiding hand,
where I will no longer be known as a stranger in a strange land
when I leave my sandals on the stoop and walk barefoot collecting pebbles..
Where I will finally find myself, reflected in rivers on the faces of elders
as they cup my face in their hands and greet me by name,
saying Ah…Daniella, you are home,
You are home.
Thank you, Dhyan, for the inspiration. Whether intentional or not, it warms my heart. Blessings.
January 1st, 2010 |
CD, Duma and DL–thank you so much for stopping by and for your kind words:)
January 1st, 2010 |
This is such an amazing verse.. The wistfulness throbs like a vital being… The progress is awesome, as are the emotions they gradually engender..
December 28th, 2009 |
Oops…that last anonymous was me..:-)
December 28th, 2009 |
Oh, I am so glad I got the chance to stop in and visit again. This is such beautiful writing, Danielle..inspired and amazing.
December 19th, 2009 |
Your words draw my breath, and paint a thousand pictures in my mind.
Beautiful writing, great post.
December 17th, 2009 |
Fab, is that you?? Thank you!
December 17th, 2009 |
Linda, that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I just sat here absorbing your comment. Thank you, and thank you for coming back and leaving your footprint:)
December 17th, 2009 |
Yeah! Thank you, LK!
December 16th, 2009 |
Amazing Danielle, simply amazing.
December 16th, 2009 |
Danielle, I know I left a comment here — or tried — but I don’t see it. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I loved this one. Your writing was so beautiful and poignant, I sat quietly for a few minutes, just hoping I could absorb it all. Like Joseph said, it’s music.
December 16th, 2009 |
You are being squeezed @ The Juice Bar! Yeah! -LK
December 14th, 2009 |
Home is magical Shraddha. I hope you are well:)
December 14th, 2009 |
Hi Helen, thank you so much….I am whispering thank you back to you…blessings:)
December 14th, 2009 |
Della–what’s mine is yours.
Thank you….
December 14th, 2009 |
Jane it’s so nice to see you again. Thank you so much. Can’t wait to catch up with your poetry as well
December 14th, 2009 |
I am smiling, knowing someone else out there was reflecting on that kind of love. There is no other like it. Thank you:)
December 14th, 2009 |
Glad you enjoyed it, Paul. Thanks for stopping by!
December 14th, 2009 |
Yousei, I don’t even feel right taking any credit for it–it sort of wrote itself, really….just an emotional response….
Thank you so much:)
December 14th, 2009 |
For real Joseph???? WOW–no, I don’t have it but YES, I’d love to have it. Please keep me posted on your progress. What a wonderful gift that would be for not only me but my daughters!
I love that you thought of music–thank you:)
December 14th, 2009 |
Bliss is back!
If you actually did walk in Greek temples I am in envy and can’t even begin to imagine how transformative that would be. Please share!
December 14th, 2009 |
Thank YOU for reading it and letting me know you liked it!
December 14th, 2009 |
Thank you Flow. Nice to see you again.
December 14th, 2009 |
I’m so glad you enjoyed the journey, Pamela
December 14th, 2009 |
is it were you born or were you put your roots. is it the place that speaks your language or the place in which you know the ways of the waves and can easily swim in.
D-this is about one of the most poetic descriptions of home I have ever read. Yes, come back to tell when you find it. In the meantime, keep writing. Thanks again for the inspiration.
December 14th, 2009 |
Falc, it is powerful, isn’t it? Powerful and sometimes consuming. Happy you liked it:)
December 14th, 2009 |
Mark, I’m so glad to help open that portal. There is so much to be found there. Blessings
December 14th, 2009 |
Thanks Darc. You’re no stranger to painting images yourself
December 14th, 2009 |
that is wonderful poem..
magic of home…isn’t it..
December 13th, 2009 |
This piece leaves me speechless – like a sweet sigh of release – silently whispering (thank you)
December 13th, 2009 |
I don’t know what is coming down harder, the rain right now or my tears. Oh dee- I want this…framed- oh I just love it…
December 13th, 2009 |
Invited into the center of this from the very beginning – with from a distance…. Love the fluid sense, the touch of that guitar/hand – love the way this gathers the vastness of time, spaces, and characters and enfolds all into the palm of my (reader) hand here on the computer screen – one of my favorites today.
December 13th, 2009 |
Ah Daniella! You have expressed the feeling of home so well I just sat here for five minutes reflecting. Reflecting on the loving acceptance of
people you know and who know you and the history of who you are. And the freedom and peace to be a loving human being.
Namaste
December 12th, 2009 |
This is beautiful, Danielle.
December 12th, 2009 |
Beautiful. To take a simple error, and turn it into a poem filled with love. Thank you for this.
December 12th, 2009 |
It’s like a piece of music, opening very softly and swooping up to this majestic place before letting you back down gently… lovely thoughts in here, I like your mention of Frasso Telisino. It adds a nice little pearl of specificity.
P.S. do you have Italian citizenship? I’ve been looking into getting it… if you have the right combination of ancestry, there’s no generation limit, supposedly. I don’t know, I think extra citizenship has never been a bad thing to have.
December 12th, 2009 |
I’ve read this twice. And will come read it again. You take me back to walking in Greek temples alone under a full moon. One of the most magical, mystical experiences of my life. I love that Your ancestors ferry You along…this is outrageously beautiful. Geez. Thank You and Namaste.
December 12th, 2009 |
This poem is so beautiful I just don’t know what else to say, except thank you for letting me read it.
December 11th, 2009 |
I really enjoyed this piece. Kudos
December 11th, 2009 |
It was wonderful discovering I was walking back through history and wondering where it would end and where it all began.
December 11th, 2009 |
love it daniellah (guess that is the way to write it in hebrew)
beautiful opening stanza, full of emotion. and to follow you in your search through the ages.
home. interesting place. concept. been troubled with it now for years. been travelling long years. been trying to escape it for long time. myself have always felt good and attracted by europe (which is my family origin). now i live here. i learn to appreciate also many things i have at my home – the place i was born to and grow up in. i miss not so much the culture as i miss the familiarities. home, such an interesting concept, idea.
is it were you born or were you put your roots. is it the place that speaks your language or the place in which you know the ways of the waves and can easily swim in.
i do not know yet. but will come back to tell when i will find it.
December 11th, 2009 |
Oh D! I wept when I read this! That thought of home, home! I so want to go there! I’m not sure where it is for me … yet. That longing is so powerful and you captured the essence of that beautifully. Bravo!
December 10th, 2009 |
Danielle, this is fantastic, my wife lost her father last year, her mother a few years earlier, with them went a strong Italian connection. I am English born with Belgian ancestry, and even though I love my city of Sydney, I yearn to be strolling the cafes streets of Europe. Your poem has opened an ethereal portal for me, thank you. In addition, I know what you mean re; inspiration, Dhyan’s ‘Pink Glasses’ was excellent.
December 10th, 2009 |
Wow, Danielle, another masterfully spun and intricate web of words and images painted with them. Beautiful. I felt the warm breezes and sand beneath my heels, the texture of pebbles in my hand.
Beautiful.
December 10th, 2009 |
Yet another twin day. This is getting scary
I have always wished I could go back to that little village, because I don’t feel any sense of history here, especially since losing my grandmother and all of her sisters. I never realized how much they infused my life with culture until recently. It makes me sad to think of traditions dying out because after immigrating to the US those connections to the culture were weakened, eventually broken, now almost gone altogether. Honestly, if I could pack up my entire family and move to Europe, I think I’d do it, and I’ve never once been there. It is just so rich with history and culture. I think maybe I was born in the wrong place. In fact, when I read that book by Elizabeth Gilbert, I felt like I could have written it (or at least parts of it;)
Anyway, now I am requesting a poem about the rivers on the faces you search at night, J, since you mentioned it:)
December 10th, 2009 |
This is …home. I saw that earlier today and actually wondered if you would comment or write about it. Strange twin experience for my day.
Of course I will dream of being “reflected in rivers on the faces of elders” because that is where I search when I shut my eyes. This sings D.