Ravenna Tomba Di Dante
This is Patti Smith
We are all alive together.
This is the small memorial site
of where the monks hid the
remains of Dante from the
pillaging Nazis in World War II,
and within the carve niche where
his remains lie now.
Dante was expelled from Florance
and fled to Ravenna.
For centuries monks have watched over him,
in the name of poetry.
This is Mary, beholding her child.
Without her finery she is still herself, radiating love.
She will be found again, as the Pieta, in the throes of her maternal mission, beholding her dead son.
The two poles of love, redemption and small hopes.
Wherever you may be, take a moment to breathe this great gift.
Love, however abstract exists for us all, without a shred of finery.
