“Today our prompt (optional, of course) is another oldie-but-goodie: a poem based on a news article.”
I searched the news all day yesterday and sadly other than Corona I couldn’t find any. So I finally did write a poem which is the result of Corona. It breaks my heart that 5 years’ ago, exactly on this day, we were there and the town was thriving with life
Coronavirus has transformed Italy’s Amalfi Coast from a tourist hotspot to a virtual ghost town (ABC news dated 12th March)
The coast of Amalfi lies deserted-
Positano, Ravello, Vettica Maggiore*
The terraced gardens look forlorn
As do the corked bottles of limoncello**
Standing on the restaurant window shelves
That yellow liqueur made of sfusato amalfitano***
no longer holds a spell-
The streets of Amalfi are empty
Their sorbet-colored homes standing precariously
On sea-side cliffs look on unhappily
At the abandoned beach of Fornillo****
Gone are the umbrellas and Mr. Ripley inspired bikinis
uomini Italini disoccupati***** now bathe in the sun
No muse for the painter’s brush and the writer’s pen
Their blank bambagina****** tells the story-
Of the ghost-town of Amalfi
where once they came searching- ‘la dolce vita’*******
*Positano, Ravello, Vettica Magiorre – towns along the Amalfi coast
**limoncello – drink made of lemon and vodka
***sfusato amafino – lemons
****Fornillo – a beach in Positano
******uomini Italiani disoccupate – unemployed Italian men
*****bambagina – hand-made paper
******la dolce vita – the sweet life
P.C. From the News
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