The First Part

Naples
2nd May 2019

I – Parthenope

Your body splayed on the volcano’s lap;
your voice a woven harbor:
in the distance, the voice Ulysses
cursing his luck.

Naples
3rd May 2019
St Philip and St Jacob

II – After St. Gaetano / Cajetan / Gaétan

Teach me poverty,
sing it in paltry notes,
as everything I’ve written
is too pathetic.

Naples
4th May 2019
San Gennaro

III – Blood

Shower us with your blood
like we have shed our brothers’ blood;
maybe we’ll learn to sow
with our own blood.

Naples
5th May 2019
Good Shepherd Sunday

IV – Duomo (Assumption of the Virgin Mary)

Sunshine on wet ground,
bells parting silence,
the scent of coffee and croissants,
and the golden stillness around the Virgin Mary…

… and Naples ascends to heaven, body and soul.