Poem: "A Picnic in the Hills"
This poem came out of the February 4, 2014 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from rowyn. It also fills the "picnic" square in my 2-1-14 card for the Cotton Candy Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored out of the general fund, based on an audience poll. It belongs to the series Fiorenza the Wisewoman.
A Picnic in the Hills
One fine day in early summer,
Fiorenza and Giacinto set out
with a blanket and a basket of lunch.
They waved to the aguana
as they passed the river,
and the lithe water-spirit waved back.
Fiorenza and Giacinto strolled
up the hill, hand in hand,
until they found a nice place.
The folletti danced in the air,
sometimes as swirls of dust,
other times as butterflies.
Giacinto spread out the blanket and
Fiorenza unpacked a bottle of chianti,
the goblets and the dishes.
A querciola came to bless them,
for such fire-spirits were known to be
good friends to young lovers.
They feasted on ciauscolo sausage,
pecorino cheese, foccacia bread,
cherries and strawberries and figs.
At twilight, candelas emerged from the earth,
their tiny twinkling lights swirling around
the two sweethearts as they walked home.
Fiorenza and Giacinto gave thanks
for the fine day and the food and their love,
and the joy of magic all around them.
* * *
Notes:
Read about all the Italian fairies.
A good Italian picnic may feature foods popular in the Marche region. I also stumbled across this lovely blog about a culinary farm in the Marche.