The songs of my youth are with me still. Golden arias forever lost in the echos of time. They fill my heart with unforgettable memories, sometimes happy, sometimes sad. Listen and you will hear... The soft whir of a brightly colored hummingbird's wings The murmuring leaves of a medlar tree in a high wind The angry roar of a stormy sea Nonna's fervent prayer to St. John the Baptist, as the fury of the tempest reaches a high crescendo A mother's sorrowful wail at her son's funeral The family children reciting a Novena in lyric, unsure voices The lanquid chant of the evening Rosary The majesty of the Gregorian Mass at Santa Rosalia A churchbells' plaintive ring, thin and far away The sing-song dialect of vendors, hawking their wares in the market place Enchanted hours of play in the Greek Temple at Segesta The laughter and whispers of passionate vows between young lovers The clip of a peasant's sharp curved knife, as it cuts away a bunch of ripe grapes from the vine The squish of grapes crushed under heavy boots, and the gurgle of golden liquid as it pours into wooden casks A rooster's crow at dawn, heralding a new day The soft chirps of newly hatched yellow chicks The pitiful bleating of a lamb as it's being slaughtered The tinkle of bells signaling the goatherder's arrival with warm foamy milk for the morning coffee The melodious sound of mandolins at weddings and Feast Days The merry rhythm of an accordian playing the Tarantella The nostalgic folk songs sung at family gatherings A farmer, in his vineyard, singing an aria from Cavalleria Rusticana The lusty songs of fishermen as they haul in their nets The lonely bray of a donkey echoing through the still night air The rattle of cartwheels on the stony road to my grandparents farm The loud hum of bees gathering honey on a hot, sleepy summer day A brook, sparkling in the sun, racing its way to the gulf of Castellammare The sharp clip-clop of a mule's hooves on cobblestones The sweet voice of Sister Caterina as she recites the day's school lesson The animated stories old Don Nunzio told about his adventures at sea These are my memories of Sicily...the songs of my youth. Written by Angela Contino Donshes
