aka ring around the rosie

an ekphrasis: I Have No Hands That Caress My Face, Mario Giacomelli, 1961-1963

I Have No Hands That Caress My Face, Mario Giacomelli, 1961-1963

The two photographs presented here by the Italian photographer, Mario Giacomelli (1925-2000) are from his series, I Have No Hands That Caress My Face, which was created during an extended stay at an episcopal seminary in his hometown of Senigallia on Italy’s Adriatic coast. It’s not a place that frequently sees snow.

snow does not deter
a young priest from 
   ring-a-ring-o-roses

snow disappears 
into its own 
   whiteness

as crystals
   white against whirling 
   cassocks and capes 
all fall down 

while the priest
and all his brothers
dutifully (joyfully)
succumb
   to creation's rare 
   offering 

I Have No Hands That Caress My Face, Mario Giacomelli, 1961-1963