Echoes From the Past
By luigi_pagano
Tue, 05 Dec 2017
- 816 reads
Voices echo
in the hallway;
they are cries of joy
but not of today.
They rebound
from yesteryear.
From a time when
Grand Tours were
for upper class men
or rich young women
with a chaperone,
but not for the poor.
With the squire away,
the villa is now empty;
they've shut the door,
curtains are drawn
and furniture covered
with dustsheets.
But during his absence
life in the village
goes on as normal.
The inhabitants glad
that the atmosphere
is pro tem informal.
Down at the forge
a pair of fellows
pump air into bellows
to produce a red glow
that enable farriers
to make horseshoes.
While some women
raise chickens
and gather eggs
many others beg,
we learn from the novels
of Charles Dickens.
The trip to Europe
is now over
and the squire reappears.
The echo of voices
in the hallway
expands into cheers.
The house once again
reopens its door;
the status quo
is restored:
a gap remains
between rich and poor.
© Luigi Pagano 2017
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