I make no apology for resurrecting the tribute poem which was published in Poetry Monthly and posted on the Poet-in-Residence blog at the time of his passing. To say that this larger than life character, this great personality, this majestic singer, this man of love and peace was an inspiration to us all and that he is now something of an icon for those who seek the spirit of goodness and kindness in humankind is probably no exaggeration.
If the light in a man's eyes is a reflection of the purity of his soul Luciano Pavarotti is today with the legendary beings of purest light the Angels. Appropriately the name Luciano means Light. The following poem is about Light.
image- courtesy Die PresseItalian Sunset
Luciano my friend
with your smiling eyes
and unshorn beard
with Italia in your voice -
the language of opera
and amorous dalliances -
sing now of football and gondoliers
and of the love of well-born ladies
and of Tuscan wine and conversazioni -
sing to us now in the glowering light
of our fading torches and flambeaux -
perhaps of Naples or Venice
and send us your best long notes
down the sunset of your going
-
gw2008,2010
A selection of Pavarotti video can be found on the YouTube bar at the foot of the blog. The performance with Zucchero is particularly recommended.
Two great voices mentioned in blogland today Gwilym - Pavarotti and Dame Joan - are there others coming up who can match those two voices do you think?
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the word verification is 'milana'
A few years ago I thought Roland Vilazon might get there, but he seems to have lots of problems. I'll have to have a think about it. There are some very good Eastern European voices, particularly the women.
ReplyDelete