I love how poetry is subject to interpretation. All writing is, to a certain degree, but poetry often means different things to different people and can stretch far beyond what the writer imagined. Take last year’s poem Thanksgiving in Hannah’s Kitchen, for instance. It met with mixed reviews: some liked it, some did not. Some saw it as funny and some found it sensual. Here’s how I see Hannah. She is the oldest, probably lonely, and least hospitable member of her family. She has prepared more Thanksgiving dinners than she cares to remember. She has the timing of every dish down to a science and prefers to do it herself over the drama and chaos that comes with “help”. Time alone finds her reminiscing, but there comes a point during her familiar routine when she grows impatient with the turkey… and maybe with herself. Here again is Thanksgiving in Hannah’s Kitchen:
Aromas, spicy and strong,
emit themselves from the depths of Hannah’s kitchen
where she busies herself with tasks no one will notice:
potatoes peeled, cranberries washed
and flour swept from the floor after making pies.
Many in her family have offered to help
but Hannah finds them useless
like the cold, dead turkey she pats dry.
She fills the bird with stuffing and rubs him with oil,
massaging the skin as if it were a former lover.
She reflects on by-gone days and early escapades
into the promises and promiscuity of youth.
She glances around the kitchen,
embarrassed by the direction her mind has gone;
just one more reason she is glad to be alone.
She tends to the turkey once again,
preening him like a groom before his wedding.
It startles her when his legs become untucked,
as if wanting to stand up, one last time, in the shallow pan.
Meticulously she binds them—tighter this time
then shoves the whole damn turkey into the oven.
Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it!
When we left for our tour of Italy, I knew I’d fall in love with Venice, and I was sure I’d like Florence and Rome; but I was not prepared for Assisi! I knew nothing about the place before our trip, so the peaceful charm of it took me completely by surprise! Assisi is the most picturesque little town I’ve ever seen and comes in at number two on my list of favorite places in all of Italy!
Because of a late start the next morning, tour director Anna and bus driver Giorgio were concerned about the traffic; but we arrived in Sorrento with enough time to drop off those not going on to Positano, then we set out for the Amalfi coast. The Amalfi coast was another agenda item I specifically looked for when choosing our tour, so of course we took the drive down the coast which Globus gave us an opportunity to do.
The road between Sorrento and Positano follows the physical coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and has mountain walls on one side and sea cliffs on the other. It is very narrow and full of hairpin turns, so instead of our regular tour bus, we rode in passenger vans operated by drivers with experience on this stretch of the road. The challenging route made it difficult to stop along the way, but we were able to pull over at the Madonnina photo stop for breathtaking views of the coast.
We left Positano for another nail-biting drive along the coast back to Sorrento. More about that in Part Six – Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Pompeii and conclusion. Arrivederci for now!
Although Venice is old and decaying, has major pollution problems, is prone to flooding and swarms with tourists brought in on cruise ships that sail dangerously close to the banks, I love it anyway! I love it because Venice is also a city of canals and bridges, palaces and cathedrals with little piazzas tucked in here and there simply for show. It is a unique place filled with history, captivating scenery, priceless art and impressive architecture; and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It sits on over 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no streets—just a maze of canals filled with boats and barges and the sleek black gondolas that have become a symbol of the city.
We arrived by boat, of course, and checked into our hotel, the SHG Hotel Salute Palace. It is located on a canal in a picturesque neighborhood where you can easily walk to many enjoyable sights. Our only problem here was not resisting the temptation to throw open the shutters and windows in our postage-stamp sized room for an unobscured view of the famous roof-tops of Venice. I suspect we let in a half-dozen mosquitoes. When I got warm in the middle of the night, I refused to kick off the covers for fear the mosquitoes would attack me while I slept!
