October 14, 2024
They say all roads lead to Rome.
It’s true because all my roads to Italy led to Reno.
I move there on November 15.
Sudden?
No.
Three Italian language courses,
two years of grueling application for Italian citizenship,
the reduction of my possessions
so I could bring their essence across the sea,
dogged pursuit of flexibility,
recovery from shattered trust,
Italian songs memorized,
and … and …—
all those efforts combined to create
a shortcut where a wind is at my back.
I am swiftly, easily, peacefully, and happily
relocating to the land of The People:
Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe.
Every effort enlarged my capacity for joy.
I smile about a Mediterranean climate
unlike Rome’s.
Rome gets wetter,
but Reno is hotter, sunnier, and more extreme.
I wanted to return to my ancestors’ land.
Maybe I will. My application for Italian citizenship continues.
But life’s roads go where they will.
I am merely their traveler.
Goddess Diana’s three-pronged crossroads,
made by wild animals,
is where I make choices.
… My Anglo grandmother was a showgirl.
Reno is not my ancestral land,
however my grandmother’s spirit will greet me there.
Note: She was not my biological grandmother, but my stepfather’s mom. She is an ancestor in spirit.
