Day 17
NaPoWriMo: Optional prompt for the day. Today, we'd like to challenge you to write a poem that is inspired by a piece of music, and that shares its title with that piece of music.
This poem went a bit to the winds.
I began thinking of the song 'The Power of Love', a Song by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
Then I thought of the song, and the film, 'When a Man Loves a Woman' – the song originally by Percy Sledge and the film (1994) Directed by Luis Mandoki and starring Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan, as a recovering alcoholic.
That film is meaningful to me, but then I thought of one of my all-time favourite films – 'Life is Beautiful' and began to rock to the romantic melody of Barcarolle (by Jacques Offenbach) . 'Life is Beautiful' is a 1997 Italian comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni.
So here goes.
The Power of Love, or Barcarolle
'The Power of Love
a force from above'
aren't all songs written
about love?
Doesn't all love hail
from above?
There's a song with a power
and a pathos and story -
'When a Man loves a Woman'
is a song that I knew
and a film that I saw;
and love won.
So many songs about romantic love,
familial love,
sacrificial, powerful love.
The songs are stories.
The stories are true.
Love is true.
The most powerful love in a story I know,
in a song and a film,
of a man and woman and son,
is the story of Guido.
Guido is true;
His story is true.
Guido knew that Life is Beautiful,
so he was beautiful
and he saw that she was beautiful.
They saw the opera one night -
Imagine the gondoliers
movements strong and movements weak
like human hearts.
Her heart was moved
her soul transfixed
and spellbound by Barcarolle.
And he loved her and wooed her
His love was true.
Their life was built on love
and they bore a beautiful son.
Life was changing,
It is always changing,
but the music didn't.
War persuaded people to fight the enemy
though they didn't know who they were.
In a concentration camp,
Guido's love,
for his son and his lady, and life,
empowered his all -
the best of humanity to take a selfless risk;
Then, out of the relentless despair
Love sways through the night,
sweeps into the lifeless bricks
where she waits
and breathes it's stringed melody of love,
expanding the air with hope,
strengthening courage;
perseverance rekindled.
Imagine the gondoliers
movements strong and movements weak
like human hearts -
Her heart was moved
her soul transfixed
Love is empowered
Love communicated in the pit.
To live, or not to die,
to forego the jam sandwiches,
persevere in love
and win the competition;
Yes,
Love won a tank!
Love always wins.
Love never fails.
an image of Guido, wife and son from the film
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