Sesquipedalia Verba Poem by Fabrizio Frosini
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Sesquipedalia Verba
At first I mistook you for my own shadow
under the shroud
Of the horizon, in a pale early morning, when
a burst of misty blue
Words -spilling out of your eyes-
made me wake up:
' Don't judge yourself —A judge can be
easily bought
And do not let anybody show you a glimpse
of the future
Or you will be blinded by '
Was it your mysterious advice and prophecy.
Unable to understand, I kept on
Climbing the thin air, with ritual persistence.
I went on this way, walking down the slope
of my life —Down
My predestined route —Unrelenting
Toward the exit.
Unaware of the existence of anything else
but your words.
(Florence,2014)
Copyright © Fabrizio Frosini - All rights reserved
[Author's note: ]
'Sesquipedalia verba' = sesquipedalian: a very long word (a foot and a half long: Horace, Ars Poetica) : long and ponderous words or expressions.
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You can read also my Italian version: ' PAROLE SESQUIPEDALI '.
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The photo reminds me of a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci. The words spoken by this unnamed person have had their effect on you, for sure. It is true that 'A judge can be/ easily bought'. I like your metaphor, ' walking down the / of my own life'. A memorable poem.
yes, Michael, you're right: it is a 'Female head study' by Leonardo da Vinci (it is at the Louvre Museum)
a beautiful poem with a deep meaning. and i have also learnt a new word, sesquipedalian))
I loved the quote, 'Dont judge yourself..., but is it borrowed or just part of the conversation?
no Afrooz, it is not ''borrowed''... they are my own words :) .. In my poems, I'm used to put in brackets what a ''third part'' (not the subject) tells.. thank you for your comment, Afrooz Ciao BTW, did your friends/relatives like the book?
I really do enjoy your work. You are a true craftsman. Keep on sharing
i have enjoyed very much your work! and from your beautiful poem i ha've also learned that sesquipedalia comes from Horace)) 2 lessons about literature))
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5/1/2024 10:04:51 AM # 1.0.0.1119
I MISTOOK YOU FOR MY OWN SHADOW - What a brilliant openning line! But even to the poem's speaker it can mean a variety of things. It could suggest a shared identity. Or a shadow being without substance it could mean a false sense of shared identity. These are opposite views which creates a creative tension in me. THE SHROUD OF THE HORIZON brings in a word associated with death (and if you didn't intend that connection you would have written THE GARMENT OF etc.) . Then words spillout of the person's EYES, not their mouth, which startled me. Finally, that's when you woke up - I didn't realize you were asleep. These observations show how masterfully dense this stanza is (Dense to me is a positive word - ordinary speedch is lean, poetic speech is dense) .