Virgil in Paradise

It was I

who led the

lost poet

along the path

of eternal woe,

toward the summit

of Earthly joy—

where my task

dictated I must

leave him

to the care

of worthier hands.

 

My task completed

I returned to

the eternal state

which was my

ordained place—

back to Limbo,

where I resided,

not in torment

but sans all hope.

 

Greater wisdom

than I could ever

hope to possess

decreed that those

born before

that blessed era

must reside—

as did I—

within that vestibule:

neither punished

nor rewarded.

 

This restriction

I accepted, coming

as it did,

from

Supreme Justice.

 

Thus I resigned

myself  to

that place

with no complaint.

 

No thought had I

that I should ever

again see

either of those ladies

in whose hand

I left the poet—

or that

blessed summit

 

And so,

I passed

the centuries

in company

of poets

and of thinkers

whose eternal lot

was predicated

upon their

having been born

too soon.

I took consolation

in the exchange

of ideas

and philosophies

with those

whose work

in the mortal realm

brought them

the semblance of

immortality.

 

And in this state

I spent

seven centuries.

 

Seventeen years

into the seventh century

that self-same lady

who had entreated me

to gude the lost poet

appeared to me

once again.

 

“Look upon me,

dear Virgil.

You remember me,

I trust,”

she said.

 

Seven centuries

are, indeed, as

an eternity to one

who marks the

passage of time,

as we in that

nether region did.

Yet, how could

I forget such

divine beauty?

 

I replied,

“Beatrice, my lady.”

Her smile cast

a brilliance

not seen

there in Limbo

since her first visit.

“What can I

do for my

sweet lady?”

Her smile grew

in brilliance

at my query.

 

“Virgil, you

were instrumental

in the salvation of

our dear friend.

Therefore,

it is not

what you can

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.06.2017
ISBN: 978-3-7487-1087-5

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Widmung:
For Ilene, Danielle, and Jordan Friedman In loving memory of my parents William and Lillian Friedman