All Gaul is divided in three parts.
~ Gaius Julius Caesar from “Commentarii de Bello Gallico”
My youthful steps were led to Rome, where yet the false gods lied to man. (1)
Follow where I lead, and thou shalt see the spirits in pain. (1)
Beauty in a virtuous woman’s face makes eyes yearn, and strikes the heart. (1)
This heaven-born woman stays frozen; like the snow in shadow (1)
Her beauty has more virtue than rare stone. (1)
There is a gentle thought that often springs to life in me… (1)
‘Who is this’ the mind enquires of the heart, ‘who comes to seduce our intellect? (1)
I plunge in thought to where my heart, frightened, pulls back. (2)
A voice from the inner depth of spirit shakes the certitudes of thought (2)
Beauty still shone in your sidelong, laughing eyes,
and you, light and thoughtful went beyond girlhood’s limits. (2)
Under the sheets of passion you call me. (4)
In brutal nights we used to dream, dense violent dreams. (3)
The dream I dream is just a dream, (4)
How alone in the space that’s still yours (6)
This is a man who labors in mud,
who knows no peace,
who fights for a crust of bread,
who dies at a yes or no. (3)
I haven’t dispossessed anyone,
haven’t usurped anyone’s bread. (3)
Sun-bordered clouds migrate from your eyes to my core, (5)
fragrant whispers from your skin are open windows. (5)
Today, you confront me and break into my heart (6)
You take me to you, you from whom I wrongly withdrew (6)
Love is a shield against sadness, a silent stair in the gloom. (6)
All roads lead to Rome. (7)
CENTO compiled by Walter J Wojtanik, 2014
***Notes: The three part aspect of this prompt immediately drew me to the inference by Caesar. I wanted to use only lines from Italian poets in this to belie the romance of Italy and encompass the whole of “Gaul”. Used in this CENTO are lines from (1) Dante Alighieri, (2) Giacomo Leopardi, (3) Primo Levi, (4) Salvatore Butacci, (5) Anna Piutti, (6) Salvatore Quasimodo and (7) Roman Idiom. The three stanzas are representative of the “partes tres” (three parts).
Written in compliance to QUICKLY IN SEPTEMBER P.A.D. – Day 3: 3) PARTS
THROUGH THE EYES OF A POET'S HEART 