Wednesday, June 24, 2009

WALTER FRANCESCHI










THE GARDENERS' GANG



They have their base in an old garage in ruins

at the end of a short gravel driveway

hidden behind a big green iron gate

and I run across them almost every morning

a few minutes to eight

as they get ready for another working day

bringing ladders, chain saws and any kind of tool

that they might need during the day

from the garage to the street where their trucks are parked

over breezy chats

five or six guys in boots

all young, around my age

and all confident-looking

and as I walk by I wonder how it might be if one of these days

instead of continuing my walk toward the office

I stopped by and joined the gang




Walter Franceschi is the author of Little Satori from Longhouse, see image of booklet below. From his home in Molino del Piano (a small town 15km from Florence) he has been writing to me of the goings-on in his neighborhood, and sometimes about these workers. I suggested he write a poem or two, and he's good for that and maybe even more. His poems often celebrate the very things we may overlook and may even miss entirely. There is great value in that.