My sister traveled to Florence just once,
but caught the Tarantella fever in her psyche.
That olive-eyed matinee lover twisted her arm,
bade her to stay in the land of painted shields.
One night he disappeared into the cobbled January fog.
She lived on bouquets of red lilies and chestnut flour.
Her freedom ended and began again with
the lavender sunrise in Ponte Vecchio’s sacred stone.
There, the ghosts of uprising wool combers
still mourn their cursory vanquishing by
the oligarchic rule of the Ciompi revolt.
Guildless artisans journeyed rotten sidewalks,
defiant echoes carved inside the dimpled pavement.
The air smelled of leather markets and young steer steak,
Michelangelo’s light graffiti ravishing statues.
Curated fashion books, marbleized letterheads,
micro-mosaics, homespun cameos,
acqua-forte-etched copper plates
were all peddled by sun-dappled locals,
shimmering cathedrals in their scrutiny.
~~~Megan Denese Mealor resides in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband and 12-year-old autistic son. A three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and Best of the Net candidate, her writing has appeared in hundreds of journals worldwide. She has authored five full-length poetry collections: Bipolar Lexicon (Unsolicited Press, 2018); Blatherskite (Clare Songbirds, 2019); A Mourning Dove's Wishbone (Cyberwit.net, 2022); A Cat May Look Like a King (Dancing Girl Press, Summer 2026); and Coals to Newcastle (Cyberwit.net, 2027). A survivor of bipolar disorder, Megan loves to cheer on kindred spirits feeling stigmatized for their mental health.
