“e quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle”
—Dante Alighieri, 34th Canto, La Divina Commedia
A tiny thing, a particle, a protein
anointed in oil, wearing a studded crown,
has declared its global coronation,
ordained by the laying on of hands.
And suddenly we learn
it was all unnecessary—
The daily errand, seemingly urgent.
Meetings. Interviews. Presentations.
Early-morning trains. Stadiums filled
for sport or concert. Gatherings around
our glittering tables.
Daily appointments stacked as neatly as firewood
in our calendars, our precious devices,
none of these, it seems,
ever required us.
We barely remember now
what was so important that
we marked our calendars for it.
And when the streets are emptied of us,
that will be the time to keep
our appointment with
what has always been waiting.
Then we will lean from our windows
or simply close our eyes, and see—
and see again, and see for the first time—
the unrelenting stars.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 22, Issue 3.
A native of Massachusetts, Catherine Marenghi is an award-winning poet and the author of Breaking Bread: Poems (Finishing Line Press, 2020).She authored Glad Farm: A Memoir (Tate Publishing, 2016), an acclaimed story of poverty, loss, and resilience; President Jimmy Carter called it “inspiring.” She divides her time between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
See all items about Catherine Marenghi
Barbara Daniels’s Talk to the Lioness was published by Casa de Cinco Hermanas Press in 2020. Her poetry has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Mid-American Review, and elsewhere. Barbara Daniels received a 2020 fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Michael Mercurio lives and writes in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. His poetry has appeared in Palette Poetry, Sugar House Review, Rust + Moth, Crab Creek Review, and elsewhere, and his poetry criticism has been published by the Lily Poetry Review and Coal Hill Review.