Focus Italian magazine

I first discovered the Italian language version of Focus magazine many years ago when I was looking for a way of keeping up with Italian. I rejected other magazines -  one was full of gossip stories about Italian celebrities I'd never heard of, another was full of very serious articles about Italian politics and so on. Focus appealed to me because it is full of articles about science, the environment and current affairs all written in Italian at just the right level (for me) of accessible yet slightly challenging. So I'm learning new things all the time!

I take out three or four month subscriptions (cheaper than buying individual issues but without the likelihood of ending up with piles of unread magazines) then I renew the subscription once I've finished the last article in the last issue.

As a bonus for me, Focus is full of great photos that I can then use as creative writing prompts with the classes I teach!

Cello in the Dark

In the belated adolescence of my student years,
living by the words of the music
that blared my ears while I revised,
I spent restless nights alone
in exam stress and unacknowledged lust
while in the room above, your bedsprings creaked
as you made love to a woman
who shared my sister’s name.

Your daytime fingers making music,
the deep low thrill of bow on string
sent shivers down my spine
as I sat serious at my desk,
gazing through the window at the garden
where a black cat crossed the lawn.


Previously published on Bigger Stones. 

Meanwhile I've posted another poem on Crafty Green Poet, you can read it here. 

Admired

Strange how deep under her skin he is.
She only knows him through his distant admiration
across darkened dance-floors and concert halls.

His desire waterfalls down her spine,
unnerves her, his heart’s poetry
troubles her through his hungry eyes.

She finds herself looking out for him,
wonders how much she likes to be admired,
how much she’s learning to admire?


previously published on Verse Wrights  

meanwhile for those of a less romantic disposition, I've posted a tanka on Crafty Green Poet, you can read it here.