CELTIC NATURAL MANUSCRIPTS – Serena Piccoli

The following poems were written in August 2018 at and for Balladarree (a permaculture, wildlife and native tree preservation on the Isle of Man, British Isles), an environment partner in the Unesco Biosphere. The poems, on request of Pippa Creasy who owns and manages Balladarree, were written on wooden chairs and benches, ceilings of the shelter and of the gipsy caravan, and on the wall of the compost loo in Balladarree. The poems are meant to describe the life of the area, where nature mingles with ancient Celtic history.

 

 

CELTIC NATURAL MANUSCRIPTS

 

 

A sweet shy sheep

wonders how to speak

to a leaving goose

while again these fields

get painted in golds and blues;

 

The knots and plaits of these fields

are carved in

by butterflies and bees

and are silently illuminated

in this path of continuity

 

(written on a one-century-old tree trunk in Balladarree, Isle of Man)

—

 

MANX MORNING CHOIR

 

A single interlacing of voices:

sheep, seals, geese

twined and twisted

in sky harmony

 

The overs and unders

fly on different tunes

horizontal and vertical

dawn to noon

 

The musical pattern’s

lavishly repeated

in form and similarity

reverse from noon to sunset

 

These ancient wool, books and stones

are twined and twisted

in the illusory nature

of Celtic knots

 

While all these vivid windy colours

on cliffs and fields

prove the verity

of Nature’s knots

 

(written on the ceiling of the Shelter in Balladarree, Isle of Man)

 

—

 

 

AS A WHITE STONE

 

 

The wind is painting the field

golden blue with purple bells

tossing their heads

thru barley stretching

under flocks of geese

 

Wind turns a dark green cliff

into a patchwork of shades

snaking around

ancient cottages and little stone bridges

 

A white dot

over a cobalt sea:

a parading seagull alone

as impudent as a white stone

 

(written on the ceiling of the Shelter in Balladarree, Isle of Man)

 

 

 

REST AND BE THANKFUL

 

 

horses, wind, crosses,

Robin, Rowan, Rooster,

then again

peacocks over rosehips

and the fish in the glen

 

all on the Isle

is changing the light

where time doesn’t fly.

The milky way on white stones

and yellow heath on green dunes

 

Nothing

will make you rankle

so then now

“rest

and be thankful”

 

(written on the gipsy caravan at Balladarree)

 

—

 

 

 

 

ZANZIBAR MOON

(unpublished)

 

 

The barefoot Southern Cross

winds thru sleeping mangoes

while the Moon reclaims its waters

of women and shores

 

the silence of rustling palms

spurs the wary heron

to fish and bath

as she summons all

 

the dark bright night

swings and springs

among those walking miles

and resting on hot cement

 

the barefoot Southern Cross

admits the regality of the Moon

as she grants gifts

to toothless sailors

 

 

Serena Piccoli is an Italian poet, playwright and performer. Co-founder and director (along with poet Giorgia Monti) of the acclaimed Poetry and Sister Arts International Festival (Forlì-Cesena, Italy). Together with Giorgia Monti she also runs a Contemporary Italian Poetry column on Tribuna Magazine (Romania) to give an accurate representation of the diversity of Poetry in Italy. With her book of political poems against Trump and Berlusconi (former Italian prime minister) “silviotrump”, Serena Piccoli is the only Italian poet in the Locofo Chaps, a politically-oriented poetry series edited by poet William Allegrezza (Moria poetry, Chicago, USA, 2017). http://www.thedreamingmachine.com/silviotrump-serena-piccoli/ She received her MA in Theater from the University of Venice, IUAV, and her 30 plays are produced and staged throughout Italy. In addition to her four books, her poems have been published in journals, anthologies and literary magazine worldwide. She’s invited to Festivals and readings in Italy and Europe to read her poems.

Facebook page:  Serena Piccoli – Site:  https://serenadesert.wixsite.com/serenapiccoli