Paesana/Italiana

1.      Tuscany

I am northern cinghiale

savory, untamed

claiming the thick forests as my home

I am pungent pecorino seasoned with sheep’s milk

timeless as the undulating Tuscan hills

shimmering with sunflowers,

scented with cypress

my veins run ruby with Chianti

my bones grow strong on succulent

green-gold, first-press olive oil

my eyes behold the faces

of mountains, the shadows of sorrow

my ears ring with rumors, whispered

in the ruins of Etruscan hill towns

where women always stood eye-to-eye with men

sustaining the wide, round world.

2.      Puglia

I am southern fava beans

simmering in earthen bowls

rosemary-scented roast lamb

purple-kissed eggplant

zuppa di mare, spiced with saffron — yellow-orange,

fragrant with the perfume of North Africa, West Asia

the lands from which my ancient mother-tongue —

my original heart — sailed

the aqua arms of the sea

hug the high-plains habitat

of my Apulian ancestors

the curved, stone-washed trulli

glisten under the furious, scorching sun

the voices of dark-skinned

Madonnas reverberate through my marrow

releasing a concerto of yesyesyes!

as the hot wind whistles

through the dusty open fields

dances on the delicate petals

of crimson poppies

tickles the feathery, flaxen

tassels of winter wheat.