Memories

For certain people
It’s the house where they grew up
For others the childhood friends.
Some remember their first encounter
With a girl friend or with a boy friend
Or their first love.

For me, everything started
In our lovely school, where,
From the height of the hill
Where it was built
We could see our entire town,
And sometimes we dreamed
About the countryside and
The wheat fields sprinkled with poppy.

My school, perched on a hill
Standing like a fortress still
Overlooking my birth town,
The church with its steeple
The plains where I used to play
Surrounding my town.

Some Italian friends
Dream about the Kasbah
The fortress built by the Romans
Perched on the top of the hill
Overlooking its surroundings
As far as the eye can see.