Tag Archives: refugees

Exodus

Posted on June 1, 2016 by toritto

We  used to live by an ancient Roman road where the chalk gave way to clay then to grandfather’s fertile garden   lemon trees and vines. Now we walk in the footprint of the Legions passed the iron age fort … Continue reading →

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We’re Sorry

Posted on October 25, 2015 by toritto

We’re sorry we bombed your apartment and your favorite hiding place and your street which, just like you will have to live it all over again tomorrow. We’re sorry we missed our intended target; all those buildings look the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

John Boehner and the Pope

Posted on September 28, 2015 by toritto

I once heard that John Boehner was an alcoholic.  I have no first hand knowledge and must admit I heard it from a Clinton source. I didn’t know John Boehner was so devout.  I guess that was my fault.  I … Continue reading →

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Exodus

Posted on September 26, 2015 by toritto

We  used to live by an ancient Roman road where the chalk gave way to clay then to grandfather’s fertile garden   lemon trees and vines. Now we walk in the footprint of the Legions passed the iron age fort … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Hungarian Rhapsody

Posted on September 14, 2015 by toritto

Some of the first arrivals at Traiskirchen Camp, near Vienna. Within three months, 200,000 Hungarians had escaped to Austria and Yugoslavia. On October 23, 1956, a student demonstration in the Hungarian capital Budapest triggered one of the tensest periods of … Continue reading →

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Dancing with Syrians

Posted on September 4, 2015 by toritto

Arab Brooklyn – Damascus Bakery, Sahadi’s,  and Reginella Pizza on the same street I grew up in Brooklyn.  Most of you know that.  One of the good things about growing up in Brooklyn was the contact with the numerous other … Continue reading →

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Of The New Colossus and Hollow Words

Posted on September 4, 2015 by toritto

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Deaf and Blind

Posted on September 3, 2015 by toritto

Pietà Do we faintly hear the wail of women over shrouds of sons and daughters? She fed them just a bit ago now they’re gone taken by an errant bomb. When she gonna rid herself of all that baby weight? … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Refugee

Posted on April 21, 2015 by toritto

We left our home in novecento left padrone and prominenti ‘Ndrangheta and the priests the almond trees for golden streets. I wasn’t born with dreams like yours; tending trees I would never own; almond butter, a crust of bread before an … Continue reading →

Posted in family, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Syrian / Libyan Refugees Head to Sicily

Posted on June 24, 2014 by toritto

Sicily and the off shore island of Lampedusa have been on the receiving end of a massive influx of refugees fleeing the chaos in Libya, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Syrian war. Last Saturday alone more than 1,800 were rescued by … Continue reading →

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