From Italy & Greece

Mytho-Poetic Visions

From Italy & Greece

Images & Memories

Lemoncello

Fragrant blossoms forecast a time

of plentiful harvest,

Juice squeezed from plump, yellow

lemons

Adorning pastries, cakes

And gourmet creations to delight your

pallet.

But one creation elevates the lemon

To the status of royalty;

They call it Lemoncello,

A delightful combination of robust

Liqueur, lemon and honey or sugar.

An elixir worthy of a Roman deity,

This tart beverage rolls smoothly across the tongue,

Igniting one’s taste buds

Before warming the throat

With its 60 proof nature.

So when in Sorrento

Be sure to ask for Lemoncello

To make your visit complete

And remind you of the fragrant blossoms

In your own life.

Donnel Lester

June 2007

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Aegena

On a back street past the tourist shops,

Sitting on the front steps of his whitewashed house,

An old man with missing teeth

And a week’s growth on his face

Stares blankly past me as I approach.

Just before I reach him our eyes meet

And there is a flicker of recognition.

Without thinking, I lift my hat

And tip it in the old man’s direction;

His face comes alive and other missing teeth appear

As a smile forms on his face.

I feel a smile appearing on my own face

And my head nods gently in his direction.

Some part of me wants to maintain

And preserve this connection;

A wiser part knows that nothing can improve

on the moment

and so I replace my hat, raise my hand in a gesture of greeting

and continue on my way down a narrow back street in Aegena.

Life can be astonishing when we open to it.

Donnel Lester

June 2007

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There is nothing we must do. There is nothing we must have. There is nothing we must be. There is nothing we must know. However, it is important to remember that when it rains we can get wet and that fire burns.