"WHAT I NEED" - A POEM IN WORDS, SONG AND MUSIC!!

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This short initially scribbled poem "happened" at PORTELLA DAGARA in mid June 2003 in the 18th year of my Sicilian excursions as I legged it across the beautiful Nebrodi Mountains. Poems happen when they happen and this one could have happened at any time. In spirit it was and remains pertinent to both my Nebrodi and Madonie mountain travels.

It transpired that it certainly struck a chord with Madonie folk whose friendship I subsequently made - so much so that popular prominant singers and musicians based in POLIZZI GENEROSA set it to music of their choosing and with further versifications of their making and it was recorded (as above) to also include a reading from yours truly. These folk most particularly were GIOVANNI CANNATELLA and ROBERTO TERRANOVA. GIOVANNI CANNATELLA has performed the song on various occasions and by invitation I too contributed a reading at a POLIZZI GENEROSA town square festivity in the summer of 2008.

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I like the poem too but then I confess to being both biased and addicted to magical elastic band landscapes - when I need fruit I expand the landscape and when there is work a plenty to be done the land contracts to pin head proportions. What an decadent idealist I really am.

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For an indexed Madonie locations map click >> here <<.

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For an indexed Nebrodi locations map click >> here <<.

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"ITALIAN CONDOMS GALORE" - PART 2.

Peter Brookes "controversial" lovely TIMES NEWSPAPER cartoon. Compliments my earlier recent "italian condoms galore" post >> here <<< .

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"HELTER SKELTER HOW MY HEART SANK DOWN"

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On a July 1998 afternoon while walking from Bivio Geraci to Gangi along the SS120 road an unexpected incident occurred which caused me to remember much happier childhood images and word associations. The words were “Helter Skelter” which I had always associated with happy fun fair days when extremely excited kids (myself included) sometimes hurtled shouting and screaming down “Helter Skelter” chutes down down and around and around to the ground.
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It was a warm sunny day, I was 4 kilometers or so from Gangi, the walking was pleasantly easy, with the open road gently leading downhill through lovely grassy landscapes and in fact at the time of the incident (as I later reflected) the traffic was so light that it was truly fateful to have ever happened. Looking up above and around me I suddenly caught sight of a large winged butterfly fairly close by, near to the verge side. It was circling around, gaily carouselling around, quite carefree as though without a care in the world, much like I’d seen them so often.
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Bit by bit, gradually, the colourful carefree creature’s circles were causing it to descend while in my very same view I suddenly noticed, also heading towards Gangi, towards the butterfly and myself, the relentless steady approach of a very large big wheeled articulated high roofed lorry. Seeing the driver sat quite high up in his driving cab I easily realised that he could not be otherwise than totally oblivious to the butterfly. Although it was very unlikely it seemed to me that if the butterfly didn’t unexpectedly somehow change its own repetitive downward spirals then it and the driving cab roof were very likely on a collision course. Each time the butterfly completed a single circle it over-ran the verge side into the space above the road unaware that it was putting itself in danger. There must have been only the remotest of chances that it would avoid injury when the vehicle passed alongside. Of course the vehicle continued along its course and I continued to hear and reflect upon its progress. I found myself watching events that I was totally powerless to stop happening. I continued to hear the relentless steady purr and quietly ticking whir of wheels.
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The circling light winged buttefly impacted with the near side high roof of the driving cab and bounced off it. It immediately fell to the ground, into the verge side grasses almost like a dead weight, like a stone, dead. It was pretty upsetting, I had been totally powerless to prevent what I had watched realising that it was virtually inevitable. The lively fateful “helter skelter” pattern of the butterfly in its final flying moments along with what seemed to be the relentless though steady journey of that very large solitary vehicle etched itself into my mind. In my Notebook I wrote the words “Helter Skelter how my heart sank down”. And I definitely meant it.
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For a Madonie Region indexed A to Z locations map click >here<.

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For a Nebrodi Region indexed A to Z locations map click >here<.

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For the FULL chronological list of all SICILY ABLAZE pages click >> here <<.

LASCARI - "A WISH I WISHED".

A WISH I WISHED

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Freed up of every

conceivable kind of bag'n'baggage

my wish was possessed of

a powerful tail flipper,

whiskers, a quizzical face

'n'absolutely superb body lines

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it cut through water

like a knife

it wished life

was eternal -

a metaphore for

really fine weather

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endlessly diving, rolling,

turning'n'turning about

my wish wished

it was a Seal

stealing the show

breaking the seal

on Fate!

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Oh come on, get real,

you know you ask

too much too late.

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Written in 1998 very late at night

sleeping by Lascari Salinelle beach

under clear summer time stars

within the sound of the lapping sea.

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For an indexed Madonie Region map to locate LASCARI click >here<.

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ROLL UP! ROLL ON! ITALIAN CONDOMS GALORE!

The sub text is Condoms Galore versus Stuffed Shirts! And as such it has below the belt potential.
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Unlike in the UK (relatively speaking) in Italia, bella Sicilia included, where condom usage is against the teaching of the Catholic Church there truly are condom machines galore, banks of ‘em screwed (no pun intended – honest!) to FARMACIA walls. It's a joke among some English living in Sicily. Clearly condoms are doing an absolutely roaring trade ‘n’ hurrah hurrah ‘n’ all that jazz. On my travels I’ve not knowingly encountered anyone who’s had an unpleasant "ear full" for participating in the rubbery roll on!
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On the other hand I have myself had an "ear full" or two from Sicilians (including a staunch “OASIS” fan and used fone card collector!!) for having dared to produce a street-wise light hearted humorous item of artwork from a small S. Francis of Assisi religious text which I’d found randomly scattered amid the country road vergeside beyond Gangi – only one or two were saveable when found as others had been roughly cut to shreds by hand-operated grass cutters. It’s grass cutters 'n' S Francis in Shreds Assisi 'n' condoms you win, and itinerant transient hight hearted artwork you lose.
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In my artwork street-wise old S Frances has something up one of his sleeves – it sure isn’t a condom so no worries there. Wow that would’ve probably been a very close call. Perish the thought.

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For an indexed Madonie Region map click >here<.
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For the FULL chronological list of all SICILY ABLAZE pages click >> here <<.

PETRALIA PETRIFIED - ABANDONED DOGS.

To view ENLARGED click on IMAGE - please do NOT throw any old SHOES - thank YOU!
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A subject I will return to again in due course -namely ABANDONED DOGS. A dog like the above would thoroughly deserve to be abandoned. When you leg it around the SICILIAN MADONIE and NEBRODI you certainly come across abandoned dogs - at times in relatively remote countryside locations and at other times in townships. Responses from local folk vary from positive to negative - the latter, at times, almost verges on the superstitious "DON'T TOUCH THE DOG"! - hence this PETRALIA fantasy image which, in the case DUBYA BUSH extreme negativism would be very understandable. At other times it can be extremely demoralising.
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For a full indexed Madonie Region map click >here<.
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For the FULL chronological list of all SICILY ABLAZE page titles click >> here <<.

PETRALIA SOTTANA - BUSH, BLAIR AND BERLUSCONI ARRIVO!

ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO. EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION INDEED - BUSH BLAIR AND BERLUSCONI ARRIVE IN PIAZZA UMBERTO UNO, PETRALIA SOTTANA. TIME FOR A CELEBRATION.

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For detailed Madonie Region map locations information click >here<.

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For the FULL chronological list of all SICILY ABLAZE pages click >> here <<.