I live on strata of dolomite and sandstone, where glacial ice split the pre-Alps and carved the coast at the edge of an azure sea. I live where Ligures and Celto-Ligures walked and hunted, where Phoenicians colonized, Greeks colonized, Romans colonized, where Christians became legal. I live where political squabbles sounded over the landscape for 1,500 years, where Saracens plundered, politicians pontificated, painters painted and poets poetried. I live in a town that Graham Greene said the years had not spoilt.
And John Keats wrote,
O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been
Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth
Tasting of flora and the country green,
Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!
O, for a beaker full of the warm South …
I live where history turns over, opens an eye and then goes back to sleep.
Antibes, France (February 2018)
Willem van der Walt
Writer, playwright, poet, songwriter
Find out more about Willem on his Amazon Author profile and enjoy Willem’s piece about Frieda Ollemans. He was also part of the Celebrate Book Fest 2022 and you can see his interview on the Celebrate YouTube channel and on the Celebrate Podcast (you can subscribe on Spotify, Apple Music, Apple Podcast and Google Podcasts, and other podcast platforms).
2 Responses
Many thanks, Dawn. I’d half forgotten about my epic and adopted home! Good luck with your many ventures! Love, w
Such a brilliant piece! Thank you for sharing it!