Straddling two worlds

    The poem  “A Page of Life”, originally written in Italian by my father, Dante Manganelli, deals with the painful experience of  leaving one’s homeland and  loved ones in a time when no form of technology existed to make separation less doleful.

     The poem starts with a long description of  the scene of a spring day, the symbol  of  the dawn of  a new and fruitful experience: the opportunity for change and improvement. 

      After this lengthy description, the  poem  underscores  the heartbreaking experience of  lengthy  family separation. Family cohesion is a value which  Italian immigrants fostered  in their “new homeland”.

      Finally the last lines sum up two contrasting feelings: eagerness  to start a new life and  sorrow for what one leaves behind.

      The last words of the poem  are the most meaningful: the poet defines the USA  his “second homeland”.  These words express appreciation for two very different cultures and an open-minded attitude to reconcile  the best aspects of two worlds and of past and future. 

 

A Page of Life

Spring was in the air

And thousands of thoughts were swarming  in my mind

For the sad day of my leaving

Was drawing near.

A restlessness

Drove me out of my house

To admire once again

The beauty of nature.

The March day was exhilarating:

The sun was  shining,

Skylarks were flying in the bright sky,

While a few shallows were happily screeching,

perhaps because they had found their lost nests.

Fresh blades of fragrant  grass,

and colorful tiny flowers emerged from the damp earth.

Bushes were becoming green

And some violets sprouted among the hawthorns.

Here and there spots of soft snow still covered the ground.

The light rustle of leaves,

The singing of young farmers,

The roaring of the stream,

The sparkling dewdrops,

The dazzling sun setting behind the hill

Altogether made that dying day lovely.

These moments of sublime joy

Were swiftly blurred

By the  broken-hearted faces of  my loved ones,

In whose eyes an awesome, endless sadness shone.

Eager to join the woman

 whom I had bound my life to

and sorrowful for leaving home,

I departed for a very distant land

Which fatally became my second homeland.

                                                                                                    Dante Manganelli

 

Immigration Poetry

In the poem “Hopefully flying home”, originally written in Italian, my father  focuses on the concepts of separation and loss perceived by an immigrant.

He expresses the feelings of an immigrant son returning to his dying father.

His  “looking up” and “ looking down” on the plane journey  symbolize death and life and the poet’s  uncertainty of finding his father still alive. 

The concept of death is dealt with serenity and strength.    

Obviously the translation has no poetic value, but I’d like to share the English version of the  poem with you so it can reach as many people as possible. I hold family bonds the most precious treasures to cherish.                                                          

                                         

                                           It was suddenly dark and

                                           the rain was pelting down.

                                           Waiting for more than an hour, 

                                           sitting in a jet plane,

                                           I saw only blinding lightning through the window.
                                           When a sudden  break in the clouds peeped out,

                                           the jet plane took off.

                                           For eight long hours I remained

                                           between heaven and earth 

                                           at  boundless height,

                                           and, when I was torn apart by doubt,

                                           I wished the jet plane flew higher and higher

                                           to reach up to my dear father's soul.

                                           But an ineffable eagerness

                                           drove me to hope

                                           that  at my arrival

                                           his heart would still beat.

                                           Looking up at the sky

                                           I was blinded

                                           by falling unlit stars.

                                           Secular seemed to me that night

                                           and  as it ended

                                           the stars vanished,

                                           whilst the grey sky appeared

                                           and the faraway dawn seemed so feeble.

                                           The emerging sun

                                           inspired me with strength and courage

                                           and heralded the landing.

                                           Looking down I saw my ancestral land.

                                           In the same moment as I arrived home

                                           my beloved father exhaled the last breath.

                                           Cold tears poured down his unaffected face

                                           and his lips still warm I kissed.

                                           I was tempted to massage his chest

                                           to stimulate his heart,

                                                      but I kept from doing it

                                           for he had found serenity.

                                                                                     Dante Manganelli

People who make the difference

    The end  of  the school year  induces insight into  educational excellence. Looking  back over years of  teaching I would  like  to pay tribute  to  two colleagues and  two  principals whom  I  have recently  worked with.

Antonio Moccia  - principal  at “Leonardo da Vinci” Middle School in  Avellino, Italy-  He  has  worked  hard  to  raise  the attainment of  my school this  year.  In everything  he has done he has  given off  messages of high  quality  education and innovation.  

Thank  you for  having  appreciated  my competences  and  having  tried  to retain me at your  school.

Alfonsina  Manganiello -principal at “Aurelio Covotta”  Primary and Middle School  in Ariano Irpino  (AV), Italy-   She  first introduced  me into planning, implementing, monitoing and evaluating school projects. I admire  her  firmness,   problem posing  and problem solving attitude  and her approaching  work with an entrepreneurial attitude. 

Thank you for your  guide. 

Eliana De Negri- Colleague  at  “Dante Alighieri”  Middle School in Avellino -  She is a self-starter, involved  in so many  different  educational initiatives  and research work.  She knows that innovation and facing challenges  are paramount  to quality teaching. What a pity there are so  few people in the school system who breed self-starters  and  so many  people who  chop down initiatives!!!!!

Thank you  for helping me understand  how important it is to set high goals  and strive to achieve them.

Carmela Di Gaeta -Colleague  at “Salvatore Aurigemma”  Primary and Middle School in Monteforte Irpino (AV), Italy. - Her unstinting effort in all kinds of  school experiences  has  provided support  for all her colleagues.  She  is a very responsible person  with energy  and follow  through.  She always makes the most of  herself.

 Thank you  for having provided me with motivation and encouragement.

Teacher thanks

To  my  students who have attended  grade  1E  at  “Leonardo da Vinci”  Middle School  in Avellino, Italy.

    The  school year  has  come to an end  and it’s  time  to say  good- bye.

We’ve  been  together  only one  year but  enough  time  for me to see you grow and  for you to treasure  what  I’ve taught you.

    You  have all done your part in making  the  school  year a truly  great one.

Thank  you  for having  appreciated   my professional   qualities and  my  personal  worth (something  really exceptional  for your age),  for   having participated  in the  school  lessons   so enthusiastically  and  having understood  so easily  the  difference  between right and  wrong.

You  have  made  my task  of molding  your personality  and shaping  your  mind  so much easier.

    I  am  glad I was  your  teacher  and  so important   in your  life.

Remember , always  try  to  do  your  best  and try to  get  the  best  you  can  from  school.   Move  ahead in life  with  the  same  effort  you  carried out all   your  tasks.  Some  of you   have  given  really great  contributions  to school  life.

   A  special  thanks  to  your  parents!

Peace People

When I was a  young  girl   I  often  used  to hear of  the  civil and  religious  uprest in Northern Ireland: the  conflict  between Catholics  and Protestant. We would  talk  about it at school with our  History or Religious  Education teacher, reflecting on what life  would  be like  at the time in Northern Ireland, especially for  children. It was  so unusual  for me  living  peacefully side  by side   with  people of different races  and  religius creeds in the USA.
As a teacher I  have dealt  with  this  topic with  my students several times. Once I asked them to imagine being a Catholic or a Protestant  child in the  years of the "Troubles" and meeting  an Italian tourist  one day in Belfast.  Here's  what  they  wrote:

Fancesca:  Hi! I’m from Italy. My name is  Francesca. I’m  on here on holiday.
Sean:  Hi, Francesca. My name is Sean.
Thomas:  Welcome to Belfast, Francesca!  I’m Thomas.  
Francesca: What’s that over there ?
Sean: That’s a Peace Wall.  It separates  a Catholic neighborhood  from a Protestant one. I’m Protestant and Thomas is Catholic  but we like to play together. We’re good  friends.
Thomas: There are a lot of  Peace Walls all over Northern Ireland.
Francesca: Why do people write on them?
Sean: Because they  want  to express  their  thoughts and feelings  about war and peace in Northern  Ireland.
Thomas: Tourists write on the walls too.  Why don’t  you write something, Francesca.
Francesca: Oh yes!  I‘ll write.....“NO WARS  AND  NO  WALLS.  LET’S  LIVE TOGETHER TO  BUILD  A  BETTER  WORLD. “

In 1976  due  Northern Irish citizens, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire, both personaly involved in the terrible incidents which were happening in their country at the time, founded  a  peace movement, Peace People. This peace organization won the 1976 Nobel Peace Prize.  Enjoy this excerpt  from  their  First Declaration:  http://youtu.be/j2OdG7k659I
The  song you hear in the background is  "There were roses" by the Northern Irish folk singer Bobby Sands.