Prelude to the Night

By Fabrizio Frosini

This second book of English Poems by Fabrizio Frosini, comes two years after his first, 'The Chinese Gardens', and it stands as the continuation of Frosini's philosophical and existential path, in his being an outstanding poet and a sensitive and committed human being. And indeed, in Frosini's Poetry "the Personal becomes the Universal".
Although most of Frosini's poetic production (over 2,000 high quality poems published) is expressed in his native language, Italian, these English poems —as well as the ones belonging in 'The Chinese Gardens'— show the best of Frosini's poetic mind.
Here is a book that is worth reading.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fabrizio Frosini
• Release date: Dec 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463720134

Fabrizio Frosini

Born in Tuscany, Italy. Currently living close to Florence and Vinci, Leonardo's hometown. Doctor in Medicine, specialized in Neurosurgery, with an ancient passion for Poetry, he is the Author of over 2,000 poems published in 20 personal books. Frosini writes in Italian, his native language, and English. He is the founder of the International Association "Poets Unite Worldwide," with which he has published more than 50 Anthologies. Among his own books: «The Chinese Gardens - English Poems», «Prelude to the Night», «Anita Quiclotzl & Her Souls - Anita Quiclotzl e le Sue Anime» (Bilingual Ed.) - [for the others, see below].~*~In Frosini's Poetry:1. The Truth is Affirmed ; 2. Beauty is Conveyed ; 3. The Personal becomes the Universal.One of the key terms in contemporary poetry is 'POETRY OF WITNESS'. "Florence, A Walk With A View" is an excellent example of this type of poem. It exchanges the anger we experienced in the preceding poem with melancholy, but this is a haunted and desperate melancholy, not at all like the word's root meaning of sweet sorrow. Yet, in Fabrizio Frosini's poem, the city charms the visitor with its natural beauty - "the silky lights of the / Sunset" - and artistic ambiance - "the intimate warmth of nostalgia that makes / Your heart melt at the sight around".In the finest poetry, beauty is conveyed in all of it sensuous and spiritual glory. The title "Water Music" refers to one of Handel's most popular works, a masterpiece of baroque melody, rhythm and harmony. The poem, however, is not about this music.. here is a shining element of the beauty this poem conveys - "I was in my room, staring at the clear sky through the window. The moon, so pale and magical, drawing my imagination to her. In my ears Handel's music was playing softly." - There is the beauty of VITA NOVA, in this Frosini's poem: Dante's idealization of Beatrice with its artistic and moral benefits experienced by a contemporary couple. And finally the beauty of sublimation, when an otherwise sensuous experience must be transferred to the plane of the Imagination. Other Frosini's poem, like "Nocturnal Snowing", are Poems of Memory, that reveal the persistence of an experience of mutual attraction in the poet's life over many decades. There, a young woman, who is forever young and lovely in the poet's mind, becomes a touchstone of emotional value. But not all good experiences are given a future by the hand of fate. And so Frosini's poetry also explores the emotional consequences of the loss of such a promising moment... The prevailing reaction in reader after reader is that Frosini's verses relate to their emotional lives. In other words, Fabrizio Frosini's personal experience reflects their personal experience, and thus the Personal becomes the Universal...~*~Books published as sole Author:(*BE*: Bilingual Editions, English–Italian ; All books have PAPERBACK and EBOOK Editions)– «The Chinese Gardens – English Poems» – English Ed. – (published also in Italian Ed.:– «I Giardini Cinesi» – Edizione Italiana);– «KARUMI – Haiku & Tanka» – Italian Ed.;– «Allo Specchio di Me Stesso» ('In the Mirror of Myself') – Italian Ed.;– «Il Vento e il Fiume» ('The Wind and the River') – Italian Ed.;– «A Chisciotte» ('To Quixote') – Italian Ed.;– «Il Puro, l'Impuro – Kosher/Treyf» ('The pure, the Impure – Kosher / Treyf') – Italian Ed.;– «Frammenti di Memoria – Carmina et Fragmenta» ('Fragments of Memories') – Italian Ed.;– «La Città dei Vivi e dei Morti» ('The City of the Living and the Dead') – Italian Ed.;– «Nella luce confusa del crepuscolo» ('In the fuzzy light of the Twilight') – Italian Ed.;– «Limes —O La Chiave Dei Sogni» ('The Key to Dreams') – Italian Ed.;– «Echi e Rompicapi» ('Puzzles & Echoes') – Italian Ed.;– «Ballate e Altre Cadenze» ('Ballads and Other Cadences') – Italian Ed.;– «Selected Poems – Επιλεγμένα Ποιήματα – Poesie Scelte» – Greek–English–Italian (Αγγλικά, Ελληνικά, Ιταλικά – Greek translation by Dimitrios Galanis);– «Prelude to the Night – English Poems» – English Ed. (published also in Italian Ed.:– «Preludio alla Notte» – Edizione Italiana);– «A Season for Everyone – Tanka Poetry» – English Ed.;– «Evanescence of the Floating World – Haiku» – English Ed.;– «From the Book of Limbo – Dal Libro del Limbo» – *BE*;– «Anita Quiclotzl & Her Souls – Anita Quiclotzl e le Sue Anime» – *BE*.~*~Forthcoming publications:– «Mirror Games — A Tale» – English Edition (also in Italian Ed.:– «Giochi di Specchi — Un Racconto»);– «Il Sentiero della Luna» ('The Moon's Path') – Italian Edition.~*~For the Anthologies published by Fabrizio Frosini with "Poets Unite Worldwide", see Frosini's profile as a PUBLISHER, or POETS UNITE WORLDWIDE's profile.~*~Some of Frosini's poems are also published in the Anthology "Riflessi 62" (Italian Edition), edited by Pagine Srl.~*~Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/poetsuniteworldwide/Website address:https://poetsuniteworldwide.org/Blog:https://poetsuniteworldwide.wordpress.com/Twitter username:@fabriziofrosini

Book preview

'Prelude to the Night' is a collection of poems originally written in English —then translated in Italian for the Italian edition, 'Preludio alla Notte'— and it is my second book of English Poems after 'The Chinese Gardens'.

For this second edition, I’ve added a number of new poems to the collection: now they are seventy-two poems, all written in the years 2015/'18.

(Fabrizio Frosini, Firenze 2018)

~*~

Or set upon a golden bough to sing

To lords and ladies of Byzantium

Of what is past, or passing, or to come.

William Butler Yeats, 'Sailing To Byzantium'

~*~

~*~

Prelude to the Night

The Poems:

1.. And the rain did come

2.. Lies

3.. Emptiness to Emptiness

4.. Trapped into the mirror

5.. Making a wish

6.. Epitome

7.. A picture within a picture

8.. Estrangement

9.. A Stray Cat

10. Dating

11. City by night

12. Hide and give

13. Blood Rain

14. Fading

15. Unfulfilled Promise

16. Sparkle

17. You know..

18. Deep-blue Night

19. Reflections on colors

20. Spring Day

21. Past & Present Time

22. A phoney smile

23. Prelude to the Night

24. Black Holes

25. Voiceless

26. Afterglow

27. A picture of a certain kind

28. Anthropocene Epoch

29. A place of peace?

30. Coming back from a walk

31. Voices of the Wind

32. A fragment of eternity

33. A Christmas Eve

34. To Her I Said

35. A day, somewhere

36. Void Moon

37. The knowledge of time

38. On my way home

39. The house made of leaves

40. Vanished they are

41. One out of many stories, from hell

42. Edge of Dark

43. A Blue Hue

44. An unending trail

45. Until

46. Do not fear the bell's toll

47. You did it!

48. Entities

49. Thirteen Ways of Looking at Humans

50. The World As It Is

51. Yet another day

52. Winter's Remembrance

53. The Couple

54. Gliding upon the rainbow...

55. In des Mondes Licht

56. On a torrid Summer afternoon

57. Yesterday was a different dream

58. When I woke up

59. Good evening, good night

60. Season after Season

61. Mid Autumn Fantasy

62. A Man, a Woman

63. Then they too...

64. End of the World

65. An absolute longing

66. Earthlings

67. Amen

68. Walking alongside the Vltava

69. Duntulm Castle

70. Blowing the Bugle

71. Unrepentant

72. Dystopia

~*~

1. And the rain did come

I.

And the rain did come. It came to stay.

First smooth and loose, then with a ravaging wrath.

The rain of your own fury —Thunders and lightnings

Along with her.

Betrayed by all

Through slander and deception,

Your bundle of rights is small matter

Even for Justice

Because so few are interested in

Truth.

Dusty sheaths of thoughts and images

In purple balaclavas and worn out puffers

Scatter far and wide along with the twilight shadows

Then gradually fade away.

II.

By nightfall,

Brooding over your whole life, you stare at yourself

In the mirror —Eyes filled

With deep regret but free from

Hatred.

Your days of youth

Are staring at you from the mirror’s past

In mesmerizing colors,

Through a dense air

Where a warbler's song resonates.

No matter where you stand

You're dead tired of everything that's moving

In and around your thoughts,

In transparent figures made of air and void.

Suddenly

The shining steel of a knife materializes itself

Punching your chest and opening a deep chasm in the

Heart

From there,

A dull undertow of loss —Stream of

Receding waves towing the mind away.

Step by step

You make it as far as the border of your own existence.

A life from now you'll look at this mirror again,

Too tired to speak

—Exactly like now.

2. Lies

I am no longer sure of the words

You proffered to me as a pretense

While shifting from one foot to another

Climbing a long row of steps of air.

Yet, it's not relevant, as your words

Were no more than a blurred speech

Lost in the glare of the stars

They too were staring at you with icy contempt

Gushing out from their deepest silence.

After a while, both the stars and I

Stopped listening.

3. Emptiness to Emptiness

When I am dead

Allow your mind to compose just a simple

Thought on a soul that will have finally achieved what he

Always had wished

Yet, do not raise any glass to salute me, since

What I ask for is just to be absorbed into the sheer

Naught of the Universe.

4. Trapped into the mirror

Alone in my studio, my

Mind’s wandering somewhere

Through her loneliness

Only few lights still on

Outside —A copse