Author Archives: April Lee

tunnels

leaving italy november 2020


 
 
i am fascinated with tunnels

there are many in italy
throughout the european continent
and going through one
becomes a commonplace event
when traveling anywhere

i think they’re interesting
even strikingly beautiful at times

they remind me of spy novels
and they make the best photos

i don’t always love being inside a tunnel though
especially when it’s miles long

oh, it’s not horrible, not impossible, to be in there
and the darkness offers a unique perspective
but it can be slightly uncomfortable

emerging out the other side
back into the bright sunshine
always seems to elicit a silent sigh of relief

a tunnel is such a metaphor for life

leaving your past, heading towards your future
a symbol of the paths you might take
and the challenges you might encounter along the way

moving through darkness
pushing through obstacles
beginnings and endings
with light and hope, reassurance, waiting just beyond

evolving over the course of your journey
your very own metamorphosis story
 
 

my return to italy september 2022


 
 
 
 

not today

i promise
more stories to come
more tales to tell

but
not today

the week has been hard
both jet lag
and a touch of the flu

so
not today

opening closed doors
releasing and welcoming
dormant feelings

assimilating
not today
 
 

 
 
 
 

that all-important flicker

today i’d like to share a poem that i wrote four years ago, in august 2018, when i was facing down my dark side . . . i was struggling a bit with loneliness, which was spilling over into questioning the entire trajectory of the path i was on.

entering the equinox

the autumn equinox
9.22.22
daytime and nighttime almost equal
light and dark in balance

heading into fall
with its cooler nights
layers and extra blankets
not much time left for
flip flops and iced lattes

witnessing summer’s end in italy
back to school
changing colors
the villa’s walls
colder to the touch

i’ve always thought of autumn
as an in-between season
leaving the sunny summer behind
anticipating the frigid winter ahead

i’ve never been a fan of in-betweens
of lingering midway, lost-in-limbo
not very clear, not very distinct
hazy and hard-to-define

this september, however, spent at villa magnolia
has provided much-needed clarification for me
an eye-opening and emotional journey
truly a transitional period

one in which quite a bit of
fact-finding and soul-searching
has taken place
culminating in a plan for the future

things that were complicated and confusing
beginning to unravel and resolve
untangling these knotty obstacles has been
both long-awaited and deeply satisfying

feeling calm and peaceful
entering the equinox

i have always been fascinated by numbers and i like the fact that this crisp new season begins on 9.22.22.

apuan magic

le maestose alpi apuane, from sunrise to sunset

i long to take the perfect snapshot of the apuan alps and embed the image upon my very soul

so that, no matter where in the world i may be, i can reach out and grab that centered peaceful feeling they give me

housing the white gold of carrara, their majestic marbly perfection makes me feel both calmingly grounded and wildly alive

stunning and magical, panoramic and historic, interesting and wise

the awe-inspiring scene before me ever-changing, never static

yet a hushed reverence for solidity

such an apt metaphor for life

i’ve missed these mountains so very much


 
 
 
 

color that calls you home


 
 
what was the first thing i noticed,
the first time i ever experienced italy?

and what always comes to mind first,
each and every day i spend in the country?

and what is my first thought,
whenever i’m away from this magical land?

the untangling (part 2)

finding our way back . . .
 
 

 
 
~ and reconnecting ~
 
 

 
 
still lots to sort out
 
 

 
 
 
 

gangway connections

we start to make plans
and then we hesitate

one thing pulls us forward
another holds us back

the old is again new
and the new is now old

a mixed-up myriad of
thoughts and feelings
swirling around and through

people and places beckon
people and places secure

experiences and memories
tether us in unexpected ways

like moving through gangway connections
on a speeding train

trying to balance without
but ultimately having to grab the rail
when the coach lurches

we’ve created more than one life
attached ourselves to both

questioning what’s realistic and true
as we step into the future

back and forth
back and forth

once more on that transitional precipice
where answers are elusive
liminal space unsettling


 
 
 
 

we think we know

we think we know
but we don’t

why that guy
cut us off in traffic

why the waitress at our favorite lunch spot
was snippy with us today

why that young woman
is crying in target

we think we know
but we don’t

why the lady in gray
purses her lips in disapproval

why that little boy
rarely wears shoes

why the grocery store checker
never seems to smile

we think we know
but we don’t

we say “oh he’s just a jerk”
or we imagine she’s being abused
neither might be right
yet both may be true

we think we know
but we don’t

assumptions
conjectures
speculations

sometimes helpful
sometimes dangerous

we think we know
but we don’t
 
 
 
 

moon musings

the moon.
so mysterious.

lighting up the night sky, guiding our way in darkness. influencing both the tides of the ocean and our tumultuous emotions.
 
 
“don’t worry if you’re making waves just by being yourself. The moon does it all the time.”
~scott stabile

 
 

 
 
the moon.