Ave Jeanne Ventresca
Portrait in Sienna / the beginning of life for American travelers below a sun
this journey began
like any other.
items to survive
were packed
carefully into bags
then wrapped upon our bodies.
limbs initiated steps
with an armor of caution
like the first few drops of rain
headed on a downwards trail
towards
a dry American landscape.
was there someone
who kept watch of our footsteps,
kept a constant lookout
from windows far away?
or was it the shadows
alongside us
who knew for certain
all the ultimate details that lined
the days and nights of our destinies?
we questioned whether the building
in the distance
contained a land of peace, or
was it a land
where war grew
like ivy rapidly over unseen walls?
not a voyager could state an answer
about tomorrow,
no lips could utter
phrases that soothed.
but it became a journey
we felt compelled
to continue.
without hesitation
we walked together
onwards towards some unsure tomorrow.
Ave Jeanne Ventresca (publishing under the name Ave Jeanne) is the author or of, or a contributor to, some 10 poetry books, chapbooks, or broadsides published in the 1980s and 1990s. She lives in Bucks County, Pa.
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