By Venera Fazio
“Venera” alien to English tongues
is embroidered upon Sicilian history where
pagan civilizations merged.
Rooted in the Phoenician deity, Astarte
goddess of erotic love
queen of the celestial spirits
she claimed the stars.
Re-named Aphrodite, then Venus
protector of sailors
mother of Virgil’s Aeneas.
“Venera” the name of a Christian maiden
martyred near my ancestral village.
Generations heard her legend woven
into family fabric preserved
by paternal grandmother.
At the Norman Castello of Venere
on the Sicilian cliffs of Erice–
Place of World Peace–
once the flyway of sacred doves over
cobalt Mediterranean to
Tunisian temple, Sicca Veneria
I hear the sirocco sing my name.
Questa poesia è davvero bella e vera. Si capisce che nasce dal cuore di una donna nata in Sicilia e subito emigrata in Canada con i suoi genitori. Si sente la forza delle sue radici e la nostalgia per la terra e la cultura delle origini mentre naviga consapevolemente in una terra nuova e in una cultura altra. Conosco bene la Sicilia, la sua storia antica anche dei miti. Conosco bene Erice e il tempio della dea Venere o l’Astarte dei Fenici,simbolo dell’eterna affascinante bellezza della donna. Peccato che la voce di Venera Fazio si sia spenta anche se i suoi versi ce la conservano assai viva e vicina.
Translation:
This poem is really beautiful and true. We understand that it comes from the heart of a woman born in Sicily and immediately emigrated to Canada with her parents. We feel the strength of its roots and the nostalgia for the earth and the culture of the origins while consciously navigating in a new land and in a different culture. I know Sicily well, its ancient history also of myths. I know well Erice and the temple of the goddess Venus or the Astarte of the Phoenicians, symbol of the eternal fascinating beauty of the woman. Too bad that the voice of Venera Fazio has died out even if his verses keep it very alive and close.
I can hear the voice of Venera, O gracious one. I am so grateful for your voice.
Beautiful… thank you
Venera, so good to hear your quiet, calm, strong voice again, and as I heard this poem for the first time at the A.I.C.W. conference in Winnipeg. We await the collected works to treasure you, anew, O gracious one.