Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, INDIANAPOLIS MARKET, by ETHEL ARNOLD TILDEN


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

INDIANAPOLIS MARKET, by                    
First Line: Behind heaped fruits in a jumbled row
Last Line: Maria, raphael, angeline --
Subject(s): Italy; Italians


Behind heaped fruits in a jumbled row
Stand Josephine, Angeline, Antonio,
Maria, Raphael, Mimi small,
And tiny bambino -- a luscious stall --
Dazzling, gay, Neapolitan --
Children of Tony, the market man.
Their skins are touched with the same warm gold
That gilded the oranges; their curls hold
The purple sheen of grapes that grow
In Italy's vineyards; their lips glow
Vivid as ripe pomegranites do;
And the veins on their temples are lapis blue
As the sky at Naples is in spring --
The look of them's a singing thing --
Their speech is music -- hush, a breeze
Stirs distant dark-leaved olive trees,
And boatmen's songs drift off the Bay,
Lilting, lovely, far away --
Warmth and laughter, melody,
Color, romance -- Italy!
Their names are a poem: Josephine,
Maria, Raphael, Angeline --





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