At the Tomb of Cangrande
byCarmine Giordano
Late in a life of failures, wins and deaths
and children grown up and grand
they got a new dog across the street
when you might not want to bother again
maybe go for a ride on the earth’s great seas
walk the temple floors where the gods spoke
see the grand palaces of dukes and dames
not have to deal again with caring
the beast’s longing for you
the wanting from you it can’t explain
beyond bone or yap or run
the tug that makes you singular
among the mossed tombs of the mighty
the faded frescoes of the chapels
the silence in the ramparts of the castle
the jelled frost on the bones of the iceman -
the yearning that makes you matter.
* * *
Song at Twilight
by Carmine Giordano
by Carmine Giordano
And should I want
more land and gain
the jangle of coins
the sound of hands clapping
while the fire’s rim
burns into the sea
and bats swoop high
into the nightfall trees
or should I savor
the rinsed cold
of morning
the fragrance of rain
on mountain stone
the berry breaking sweet
on the tongue
the crane’s cry
across the lake
his legs trailing the sky
the curl of the infant’s hand
his grasp around my finger