Ciao

 

I was going to have mince and tatties

For my tea

But I couldn’t find a carrot

Singly

So change of plan in Waitrose

I’m versatile you know

Spaghetti Bolognese

Will now be on the go

 

And a bottle of Chianti

Shaky cheese as well

For old times sake

I’ll talk Italian

A casa where I dwell

 

Two happy years I spent in Rome

‘82 to ‘84

Pasta pizza vino

I was flowing out the door

Achieved Summa cum Laude

For studies that I’d done

Beside the Colosseum

In a blazing Roman sun

 

I had rotted in the seminary

Six years down the drain

All of my potential

Wasted in the rain

But that interlude in Roma

Brought my mind to life

And my heart would one day follow

The day I met my wife

 

So pasta and Chianti

Will be my feast tonight

I’ll sing Santa Lucia

Things will be all right

The blessed food the vino

And memories I recall

The blessed days I spent there

Auguri one and all

 

Brian Fahy

14 December 2021