Friday, May 29, 2009

Malèna & Sicily - Week's End




Most viewers of Malèna don't seem to understand the melancholy & the real menace faced by Sicilian women. Worlds collide in Sicily...then & now. Though there is no denying the beauty of Monica Bellucci & the Sicilian land & seascapes, be careful what you romanticize. Our theory is that you can't really love a place if you willfully ignore the tragedies. Have a great weekend & once again....if you can find it in your heart to check out Darfur, Congo, Burma links on this site...well, that would be a gracious gift from you to the real Malènas of this world.

ciao-meow, GG Central


Theocritus - A Villanelle


O singer of Persephone!
In the dim meadows desolate
Dost thou remember Sicily?

Still through the ivy flits the bee
Where Amaryllis lies in state;
O Singer of Persephone!

Simaetha calls on Hecate
And hears the wild dogs at the gate;
Dost thou remember Sicily?

Still by the light and laughing sea
Poor Polypheme bemoans his fate;
O Singer of Persephone!

And still in boyish rivalry
Young Daphnis challenges his mate;
Dost thou remember Sicily?

Slim Lacon keeps a goat for thee,
For thee the jocund shepherds wait;
O Singer of Persephone!
Dost thou remember Sicily?

by Oscar Wilde

[
Malèna credits; At sea alone & Alone in the Sea by Giampaolo Macorig; LIFE archive, uncredited Sicilian scene]