Live Encounters Poetry & Writing Volume One November-December 2024
The Rouge Of The Soul, poems by Maria Miraglia.
The Rouge Of The Soul
You fear exposing your soul
its truths
and look in the mirror
staring at your image
but almost frightens you
to investigate to the bottom
Your soul is there
well hidden
you can hardly
recognize it and
soon realize of it
you feel a little ashamed
so immediately get organized
to find remedies
not to make it come out
as it is
and invent strategies
to cover it with rouge
you dress your face with smiles
your language becomes courteous
and polished
your lips always open to compliments
or in defence of the weakest
always the first to condemn injustices
and hypocrisies
You love applauses
and for this
take care of appearances
but sooner or later
you’ll find again alone
with your Self
Inquietudes
She arrives, comes in
Slams the door furiously
And throws the keys away
To keep her far
I beseech aid to Reason
That smiles at me
Like a mom does
When a baby
poses a weird question
So I turn to Patience that
in straightaway tells me
wait wait
but she’s been there a long time
I say
even when I feel like sleeping
as an owl
she begins to hoot
and in the morning
when silently
I open the door
to leave her inside
she follows me like my shadow
but
what can I do to get rid of her
wait and hope
don’t you see
how long and white my hair is
ask your Sub-conscious
she then softly whispers to me
After a long walk
I meet this myself
hidden and unknown
and I also ask him to free me
of the enemy that
with bravado and arrogance
stays in my mind
occupies my thoughts
With a lit torch
The unconscious shows me infinite paths
dark and intertwined with each other
one life would not be enough
she tells me
to enlighten them all
And so I go back
and
the banality of everyday life
wraps me again
like an airwave
hot and stuffy
while assails me the nostalgia for infinity
for the immense meadows
where free blow the winds.
© Maria Miraglia
Maria Miraglia, a poet, essayist, translator, and peace activist, graduated in foreign languages. She furthered her studies with a Master’s in Evaluation and another Master’s in Modular Didactics and achieved merit certifications at Trinity College in Edinburgh and the International House in London. Dr Miraglia taught in public high and secondary schools and served as a Ministerial Trainer for the English language. She was a member of Amnesty International and later of Ican. She was also Vice President of the World Movement for the Defense of Children (UWMC) in Kenya and founder of the World Peace Foundation (WFP). The poet is the Literary Director of the Pablo Neruda Association, a member of several World Writers Associations, an Honorary Member of Naciones Unidas de las Letras, Bolivia, a member of the editorial board of Afflatus Creations, Opa Archieve-India, and several other international editorial boards. She writes in Italian, English, or both languages. Her poems have been translated into over thirty foreign languages and are prominent in more than one hundred international anthologies. Her most recent collections are Coloured Butterflies and Echi nell’Aria (Echoes in the Air). Miraglia’s literary prowess has earned her numerous prizes and awards worldwide.