Domenica delle Palme
Claudia Wardle
Smooth coral edifices shift into polished ochre and fade
Into golden specks around my bicycle wheels.
As I pass, they rise into bell tower stripes,
Heralding their patron:
Giorgio, what can a flag time-subdued reveal?
Spring-softened tongues reveal more,
As through their gaps slips the muffled recall:
L’Anno della Misericordia.
A stranger, sojourner, these umbers keep me warm
On my peregrinaggio, traversing the city’s walls,
Dual-tongued in an uneven cleft.
Arches of honey now encircle my wheel-spins,
The stone cogs of heaven – does the friar direct them?
For him this place is bereft
Of one of its tongues, of one of its natures.
But she who looks back, enthroned in pilasters,
Forsakes neither.
Palm leaves are scattered at her feet,
The green tongues of the popolo transitioning into primavera.
The antiphon ascends to the castle’s peak
And I dare to speak
Con le due lingue dell’anima.
~
Claudia Wardle is a graduate student whose research focuses on fifteenth-century Italian painting. She is currently based in Durham but is soon to be commencing a PhD at the University of York. Amongst her pastimes are writing and illustration, and her material is influenced predominantly by faith, the saints, dreamscapes, and the individual’s inner struggle.
Khatleen Minerve was born and lives in Mauritius. She’s a passionate portrait photographer who started taking shots six years ago and has been working as a freelancer for the past two. On the way, she earned a Law and Management degree. She loves to enjoy a cup of tea every hour or so.
