Days of Wine and Roses
A memento.
The days of wine and roses, replaced
by the nights of cocoa and Ovaltine,
may be remote but are not forgotten.
You wore pink lipstick, I brilliantine,
in that fashionable time of yesteryear
when our raison d’etre was romance
and partying in congenial gatherings
with youthful energy and exuberance.
But we were also serious intellectuals
discussing the literary works of Racine
whereas today the only topic debated
is about the date we’ll get a vaccine.
O tempora. O mores, we could say
and leave it at that, but how to explain
the nostalgic remembrance of the past
plus the wish we could live it again?
The regret we feel about its passing
maybe the reason we keep love-tokens
which takes us back to happier times
before the magic spell was broken.
There is an object that I shall retain
to keep my treasured memory intact;
it is an item, new and unused, I found
when you left: your powder compact.
You would have used it, I am certain,
as you were wont to do prior to a dance
to add more colour to your rosy cheeks,
if Fate had granted you another chance.
© Luigi Pagano 2020
© ionicus 2023
Views: 550
I found this to be very moving. The structure and the pacing lend gravitas to the human condition so well described here.
Thanks for reading and for your welcome feedback, Bhi. A few reflections on past and present life with a tinge of nostalgia. With age we seem to become more nostalgic..
Best, Luigi
Aw this was beautiful. Goes to show your scope as a poet. I loved the nostalgia and the reminiscences. The pic of the powder compact took me back too to seeing my mother with hers. Those days had their challenges, every age has but I firmly believe we left a kinder world behind us.
One of your best.
Alison x
Thanks for your positive appraisal, Alison. It is very encouraging and morale boosting to see that the poem was not only appreciated but that it was also ‘picked’.. 🙂
Luigi x
Thank you, Daffni.
It is a line of poetry that I remembered which came into my head one morning all of a sudden and inspired the piece. Coincidentally, Shadow (Moya) used the same phrase in her poem ‘Cold Spell’.
Luigi x
Nice poem. We cling to what links us to the memories we need.
Nice to hear from you, Ralph. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Best, Luigi