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    By Land & By Seas: Poetry for the Refugees
    By Land & By Seas: Poetry for the Refugees
    By Land & By Seas: Poetry for the Refugees
    Ebook160 pages1 hour

    By Land & By Seas: Poetry for the Refugees

    By Fabrizio Frosini and Poets Unite Worldwide

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    "In a strife ridden world it is incumbent on the part of a poet to dwell upon social issues like war, corruption, poverty, refugee influx etc. He should hold a mirror to life and its sufferings and joys and strive to bring each one’s life a trifle closer to the worth and meaning of man’s existence on this Earth. Only by exposing the injustices and absurdities of society and voicing against them, we can reduce the gloom that permeates the lives of many in our society. Refugees who are thrown out of the orbits of their lives have a life and death struggle before them. Let the world realize that all are rightful heirs to the bounties of the world and everyone has a right to lead a dignified life." (Valsa George Nedumthallil)

    « Voiceless, I now speak to myself
    And voiceless I speak to you, also —You,
    Who are listening to me through your empty
    Eyes » (F.Frosini, April 2016)

    This book is for all those who are forced to leave their homes and their countries because of persecution and wars (F.Frosini)

    ~*~

    A 'Refugee' is a person who flees to another country to escape being persecuted for their religion or politics, or to escape war.

    According to UNHCR, the agency of the United Nations set up to aid, protect, and monitor refugees, at the end of 2015 the total number of "forcibly displaced" worldwide was 65.3 million —a number equal to the entire population of the UK.

    "During the year 2015, conflict and persecution forced an average of 34,500 persons per day to leave their homes and seek protection elsewhere, either within the borders of their countries or in other countries. 51% of refugees were under 18 years old —the highest figure for child refugees in more than a decade." [UNHCR]

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFabrizio Frosini
    Release dateDec 21, 2016
    ISBN9781370805273
    By Land & By Seas: Poetry for the Refugees
    Author

    Fabrizio Frosini

    Born in Tuscany, Italy. Currently living close to Florence and Vinci, Leonardo's hometown. Doctor in Medicine, specialized in Neurosurgery, with an ancient passion for Poetry, he is the Author of over 2,000 poems published in 20 personal books. Frosini writes in Italian, his native language, and English. He is the founder of the International Association "Poets Unite Worldwide," with which he has published more than 50 Anthologies. Among his own books: «The Chinese Gardens - English Poems», «Prelude to the Night», «Anita Quiclotzl & Her Souls - Anita Quiclotzl e le Sue Anime» (Bilingual Ed.) - [for the others, see below].~*~In Frosini's Poetry:1. The Truth is Affirmed ; 2. Beauty is Conveyed ; 3. The Personal becomes the Universal.One of the key terms in contemporary poetry is 'POETRY OF WITNESS'. "Florence, A Walk With A View" is an excellent example of this type of poem. It exchanges the anger we experienced in the preceding poem with melancholy, but this is a haunted and desperate melancholy, not at all like the word's root meaning of sweet sorrow. Yet, in Fabrizio Frosini's poem, the city charms the visitor with its natural beauty - "the silky lights of the / Sunset" - and artistic ambiance - "the intimate warmth of nostalgia that makes / Your heart melt at the sight around".In the finest poetry, beauty is conveyed in all of it sensuous and spiritual glory. The title "Water Music" refers to one of Handel's most popular works, a masterpiece of baroque melody, rhythm and harmony. The poem, however, is not about this music.. here is a shining element of the beauty this poem conveys - "I was in my room, staring at the clear sky through the window. The moon, so pale and magical, drawing my imagination to her. In my ears Handel's music was playing softly." - There is the beauty of VITA NOVA, in this Frosini's poem: Dante's idealization of Beatrice with its artistic and moral benefits experienced by a contemporary couple. And finally the beauty of sublimation, when an otherwise sensuous experience must be transferred to the plane of the Imagination. Other Frosini's poem, like "Nocturnal Snowing", are Poems of Memory, that reveal the persistence of an experience of mutual attraction in the poet's life over many decades. There, a young woman, who is forever young and lovely in the poet's mind, becomes a touchstone of emotional value. But not all good experiences are given a future by the hand of fate. And so Frosini's poetry also explores the emotional consequences of the loss of such a promising moment... The prevailing reaction in reader after reader is that Frosini's verses relate to their emotional lives. In other words, Fabrizio Frosini's personal experience reflects their personal experience, and thus the Personal becomes the Universal...~*~Books published as sole Author:(*BE*: Bilingual Editions, English–Italian ; All books have PAPERBACK and EBOOK Editions)– «The Chinese Gardens – English Poems» – English Ed. – (published also in Italian Ed.:– «I Giardini Cinesi» – Edizione Italiana);– «KARUMI – Haiku & Tanka» – Italian Ed.;– «Allo Specchio di Me Stesso» ('In the Mirror of Myself') – Italian Ed.;– «Il Vento e il Fiume» ('The Wind and the River') – Italian Ed.;– «A Chisciotte» ('To Quixote') – Italian Ed.;– «Il Puro, l'Impuro – Kosher/Treyf» ('The pure, the Impure – Kosher / Treyf') – Italian Ed.;– «Frammenti di Memoria – Carmina et Fragmenta» ('Fragments of Memories') – Italian Ed.;– «La Città dei Vivi e dei Morti» ('The City of the Living and the Dead') – Italian Ed.;– «Nella luce confusa del crepuscolo» ('In the fuzzy light of the Twilight') – Italian Ed.;– «Limes —O La Chiave Dei Sogni» ('The Key to Dreams') – Italian Ed.;– «Echi e Rompicapi» ('Puzzles & Echoes') – Italian Ed.;– «Ballate e Altre Cadenze» ('Ballads and Other Cadences') – Italian Ed.;– «Selected Poems – Επιλεγμένα Ποιήματα – Poesie Scelte» – Greek–English–Italian (Αγγλικά, Ελληνικά, Ιταλικά – Greek translation by Dimitrios Galanis);– «Prelude to the Night – English Poems» – English Ed. (published also in Italian Ed.:– «Preludio alla Notte» – Edizione Italiana);– «A Season for Everyone – Tanka Poetry» – English Ed.;– «Evanescence of the Floating World – Haiku» – English Ed.;– «From the Book of Limbo – Dal Libro del Limbo» – *BE*;– «Anita Quiclotzl & Her Souls – Anita Quiclotzl e le Sue Anime» – *BE*.~*~Forthcoming publications:– «Mirror Games — A Tale» – English Edition (also in Italian Ed.:– «Giochi di Specchi — Un Racconto»);– «Il Sentiero della Luna» ('The Moon's Path') – Italian Edition.~*~For the Anthologies published by Fabrizio Frosini with "Poets Unite Worldwide", see Frosini's profile as a PUBLISHER, or POETS UNITE WORLDWIDE's profile.~*~Some of Frosini's poems are also published in the Anthology "Riflessi 62" (Italian Edition), edited by Pagine Srl.~*~Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/poetsuniteworldwide/Website address:https://poetsuniteworldwide.org/Blog:https://poetsuniteworldwide.wordpress.com/Twitter username:@fabriziofrosini

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      Book preview

      By Land & By Seas - Fabrizio Frosini

      by

      Fabrizio Frosini

      A 'Refugee' is a person who flees to another country to escape being persecuted for their religion or politics, or to escape war. According to UNHCR, the agency of the United Nations set up to aid, protect, and monitor refugees, at the end of 2015 the total number of "forcibly displaced" worldwide was 65.3 million —a number equal to the entire population of the UK—with an increase of 5 million in a year. This represents one in every 113 people on planet Earth, and it was the first time the number of refugees worldwide had passed the 60 million mark. During the year 2015, conflict and persecution forced an average of 24 people a minute (34,500 persons per day) to leave their homes and seek protection elsewhere, either within the borders of their countries or in other countries; 51% of refugees were under 18 years old —the highest figure for child refugees in more than a decade.

      In March 2016, while looking at an image taken on the border between Greece and Macedonia, I felt the urge to write a few lines. Those lines, written in my native language, Italian, then became a poem:

      Aspettando Pasqua

      [da un’immagine dal confine macedone, Marzo 2016]

      Si squarcia il velo sulla

      Pista di sangue che segue la

      Gola tagliata dell’agnello.

      La ferma fila di bambini con in mano

      Logori sacchetti di plastica

      Fronteggia rotoli di filo

      Spinato

      Alla frontiera della

      Vita.

      Its English version, 'Waiting for Easter', is now part of this compilation. From that urge, also this editorial project was born: I asked for a poem on the Refugees theme to my poets friends, worldwide —some of them, themselves refugees.

      Sixty one poets sent me their contribution to such a compilation, now published with the title 'By Land & By Seas'. Daniel J. Brick, as usual, wrote the keen introduction to the book. Pamela Smith Sinicrope and Kelly Kurt, did a great editing job. Galina Italyanskaya created a beautiful cover also for this book.

      To all of them, ‘Poets Unite Worldwide’, my gratitude.

      With friendship

      (Fabrizio Frosini, Firenze, 2016)

      _____________

      The 44 countries –those of birth, plus the countries of adoption or of current residence of us all, 63 poets:

      Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Bhutan, Chile, China (HK), Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Kenya, India, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, México, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Tunisia, UAE, Uganda, UK, USA, Zimbabwe.

      ~*~

      « My heart is weary and sad and alone,

      For its dreams like the fluttering leaves have gone,

      And why should I stay behind? »

      Sarojini Naidu

      [from 'Autumn Song']

      Foreword

      by

      Daniel J. Brick

      THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

      The World We Live In

      The headline of the newspaper for the last Saturday in May, 2016, read, "A Call For Peace In A Place Of Doom", and in smaller print below, read, «President Obama summons the world to a moral awakening regarding nuclear weapons».

      Being a poet I trust words and must believe they express the reality of things. But the headline of another paper the same day made me pause. It read, Obama expresses sorrow over the Hiroshima bombing but stopped short of an apology.

      In other words, the human being expresses genuine sorrow, but the President of a nation-state, including the United States, cannot bend to an apology. Why is that? Are there legal issues? Is this equal to the constitutional protection against self-incrimination? Or do nation-states consider themselves above accountability and remorse? This is a sobering example of the world we live in, the world we have collectively created by our actions and/or inaction. However, the larger issue is certainly the US President’s call for a moral awakening. These poems are our contribution to such a moral awakening.

      What is a Refugee?

      We can all agree a refugee is a person who needs and actively seeks a refuge, because s/he has been cast out of their home. I looked up the word ‘refuge’ in the dictionary and found five synonyms which highlight different dimensions of this issue. For example, a refuge is an asylum, which is a safe place, that provides shelter from those perpetrating the violence. A refuge is also a retreat, or a withdrawal from what constitutes daily life in ordinary terms, so that the individual can reassemble the broken pieces of their lives and even forge a new identity. And perhaps most evocatively, a refuge is a home. Home is one of the most resonant words in any language. Having been deprived of their home, by means of destruction or confiscation, a refugee is in desperate search for a new one to restore stability and safety. Sanctuary is another synonym and it adds a religious inflection to the issue. Traditionally, a sanctuary is a sacred place which is taboo to violate, so a refugee is protected by both human and divine authority - if his or her pursuers respect that ancient code.

      But most poignantly, a refugee is a stranger in a strange land. He must wander far from what is familiar, travel deeper and deeper into a terra incognito, in which language, customs, laws, etc. only emphasize how supremely he is out of his comfort zone, his stamping ground, the place that he recognizes and that recognizes him.

      Two Lessons from Antiquity

      "Not a day goes by that I don't miss and long for my home. I am worn out thoroughly from the work and the waves." [Homer]

      Across the vast span of twenty eight centuries, we still hear Homer's ever clear voice proclaiming the lament of a life blasted by war. This lament is not characteristic of the warrior ethos Homer celebrated but rather that of an ordinary man nearly broken by the stress of surviving in a broken world. This is the voice of Odysseus, no longer the hero but just a man stripped of everything that made him powerful and feared: He is a king without subjects, a warrior without weapons, an eloquent speaker choked with grief. All he can do is kneel before the Queen, embrace her legs and sob.

      Such is the plight of the refugee in every generation: a human being reduced to elemental flesh and blood, no rescue in sight, no resources available, no status in this alien society, dependent always on just one glowing possibility — The Kindness of Strangers.

      Almost twelve hundred years later, the Roman poet Virgil wrote a Latin epic about the aftermath of the Trojan War, ‘The Aeneid’. The hero Aeneas chooses to be killed fighting a hopeless battle against the already victorious Greeks. But the gods order him to flee with a remnant of Trojans and build a new life in the west. When this band of harried refugees reach Carthage, Queen Dido accepts them without question,

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