Photo: Milano, Arco della pace, © Giuseppe Faraone – Oil on canvas of contemporary painter Giuseppe Faraone
“You welcome me with an icy expression and turned shoulders,
as if you did not care,
and often you let me drown in my insignificance.
But in staying with you and living you
so many layers of you opened to me
like mysterious curtains of a theatre.
Extract from the poem “Milano”, Stefania Lucchetti, Coffee Stains On My Books, 2024, contemporary poetry collection.
Buy the book to read the whole poem: Buy Coffee Stains On My Books
“Milano” is a poem that delves into the complex relationship with a city that is, at once, welcoming and indifferent, captivating and cold. Milan is an elusive entity, with a thousand faces and multiple dimensions—a city that doesn’t offer an immediate connection but asks to be discovered and understood gradually, like a book that reveals its secrets only to those willing to read it with patience and openness.
“I lost you and found you many times,
not always with open arms.“
Excerpt from the poem “Milano” by Stefania Lucchetti.
The verses speak of a relationship made of encounters and separations, of conflicting emotions. Milan doesn’t welcome warmly but rather with “an icy expression and turned shoulders,” an image that encapsulates its distant and often austere nature. In this refusal to offer warmth, Milan forces one to confront their own sense of insignificance. Overcoming this requires a conscious decision to stay and explore the city, layer by layer, like curtains on a stage that open to reveal hidden stories.
Milan unveils itself in all its complexity: it is a place that allows one to live many lives, to be whoever they wish without demanding absolute devotion or a fixed identity. The city offers freedom and diversity, resisting the urge to confine itself to a single image, and in this lies its sophistication and depth. The image of Milan as “a lively harbor market” evokes a sense of abundance, of infinite possibilities, where one can always find something precious and unique. It is a city that offers everything, yet never reveals itself entirely.
“Milano” is a poem that celebrates the complexity, richness, and reserve of a city that doesn’t immediately offer itself but, like an enigmatic person, requires time, patience, and a certain amount of courage to be truly understood.
“Look closer / through the looking glass“
This invitation to look beyond the surface is a call to discover Milan’s true essence, to not stop at first impressions but to dive deeply, entering its world as Alice steps through the looking glass, finding wonder and complexity beyond appearances.
The poem “Milano” (Italian version) is, among others, one of the works featured in Stefania Lucchetti’s profile on Italian Poetry Org.
Video
A video of an explanation and reading of the poem Milano (in Italian) in May 2024 at Milano’s restaurant Dito Divino.
Cyberspace
I also offer you in this newsletter an article on a different topic, that of cyberspace—a subject to which I have dedicated extensive study throughout my professional life. Read it here.
Reviews
Have you already read Coffee Stains on My Books? If so, take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon. You can write a review even if the book was gifted to you. Reviews are important to help the book reach new readers, especially those who haven’t heard about it yet or are unsure whether to purchase it!
