il sole Toscano

Hubby and I did a walking/trekking tour in the Garfagnana region of Tuscany. The tour was through Exodus and lead by the exceptional Sara Bull.

I wrote a poem about the experience. Feel free to read along with my reading of the poem. (Translation notes and images below.)

Lesh Karan reading 'il sole Toscano'

il sole Toscano

rain-and-snow veiled
in Maggio 13 frosted smiles
trek upwards into Shortarms^*
that light fires and stir
minestra di farro della Garfagnana
to propel feet the next giorno

drenched in mountains
Castelnuovo magnifies
through beech trees touching the sky
the terreno opens chestnutted forests
chirping to the tune of Serchio river

our guide’s heart cocoons
each tread away from falls and fear
we climb knitted amicizia

Translation & notes

il sole Toscano: the Tuscan sun
Maggio: May (month)
^*Shortarms = Braccicorti (name of the agriturisimo farmhouse where we were based)
minestra di farro della Garfagnana: farro soup of Garfagnana, Tuscany
giorno: day
Castelnuovo (di Garfagnana): a town and comune in the province of Lucca, Toscana
terreno: terrain
amicizia: friendship

Photos: © Gajanan Skandakumar 2019