LIKE A CASKET

Like a casket full of memories

of pages read and forgotten

of strong emotions

tears smiles and images

of loved ones

I would lightly touch

with the palm of my hand

sunrises and sunsets

smells and sensations

of things gone by

like wilted flowers

freshly picked

fragments of life

ripped from the hands

Vain to look back

to grab the past

that like wind flees

of all that was

nothing remains

only the pain

for the lost things

and the melancholy

for those who have already

crossed the gates of heaven

and of them I’d call

cry out their names

make them turn back

for once at least

In the mind’s eyes

their faces

sometimes clear

like images of a movie

just seen

others veiled

as in the morning

the view outside

when the fog

still envelops

with its milky mantle

the houses and mountains.

Stranger myself

to the child of one time

and the pretty girl

that at a quick pace

walked towards life

and full of hope

@ Maria Miraglia

Dr Maria A Miraglia is an Italian educationist, bilingual poet, translator, essayist, and

ministerial lecturer for English language teachers. For a long time, she has been an

active member of Amnesty International and several other peace organizations.

She is the Literary Director of the P. Neruda Association and a member of several

international editorial boards. The poet has received both national and international

recognition and awards. She writes in her native language or English or both languages 

Her latest works are Colourful Butterflies, which was also edited in Italian and Telugu, and Echi nell’Aria

(Echoes in the Air). She has published over twenty  poetic collections, her poems are featured in more than one hundred international anthologies, and she has received awards and recognitions worldwide 

Dr Maria Antonietta Miraglia

Literary Director of P. Neruda

Founder and Chairwoman of the World Foundation for Peace

Member of the European Academy of Science and Arts-Salzburg