DIVIDED (IN THREE PARTS)

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres.
~ Gaius Julius Caesar from “Commentarii de Bello Gallico”

My youthful steps set off to roam. Follow where I lead.
There, where yet the false gods lied to man, thou shalt see the spirits in pain. (1)
For beauty has more virtue than rare stone, (1)
and beauty in a virtuous woman’s face strikes the heart. (1)
This heaven-born woman stays frozen; and like the snow in shadow, making eyes yearn. (1)
She is a gentle thought that often springs to life in me. (1)

‘Who comes to seduce our intellect?
‘Who is this?’ the mind enquires of the heart. (1)
I plunge into that thought where my heart is frightened. I retreat. (2)
The certitudes of thought are as a voice from the inner depth of spirit. It frees the mind. (2)
Beauty remains in your eyes and mine eyes behold you,
and your light is thoughtful, going beyond girlhood’s limits. (2)
Under the sheets of passion you beckon me. (4)
In rapturous nights we would dream,
intense and wanton dreams. (3)
Yet, the dream I dream is only a dream, (4)
how alone it is in the space in which you have slept. (6)

I am merely a man.
A man who labors in mud,
a man who knows no peace
working tirelessly for a crust of bread,
a man who dies in answer to every question. (3)
I have not destroyed anyone.
I haven’t taken that which keeps another man alive. (3)
Sun-bordered clouds migrate from your eyes to my core, (5)
fragrant whispers from your skin waft like the mist through open windows. (5)
Today, you haunt me and steal my heart. (6)
You take me to you, the one from whom I withdrew in ignorance. (6)
No pain, no fear. No sadness can penetrate the shield love offers,
this silent stair in the gloaming, rising to lift our hearts to their place. (6)
All roads lead to Rome. (7)

CENTO Originally “Divisa in Partes Tres” by Walter J Wojtanik, 2014

Reconstructed as “Divided (In Three Parts)”

***Notes: I have retained the three part aspect of this prompt (based on the same inference by Caesar in Latin). Again, the lines from Italian poets reflect the romance of Italy. 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.

QUICKLY IN SEPTEMBER P.A.D. – DAY 4 – POEM ON A QUILT, PART 2