Hi there Ohm Force! My name is Federico Pezzotta and this is my work for the Christmas Cohmpetition 2010. Being born in Italy, I tried to pay a little tribute to Dante Alighieri (that guy was an awesome writer..) : I borrowed the rhyme scheme and metrics from his Divine Comedy and wrote 33 lines in triplets. In case you don’t know the story of that poem, a little introduction: As in the Divine Comedy, figure Dante walking through Hell (and further on Purgatory and Paradise) guided by the roman poet Virgil, crossing the different Circles where the damned atone their earthly sins..
The Distorted Circle (a Divine Cohmedy)
This path across the Hell is taking further
My knowledge of the human soul and vices,
This burden I must carry upon my shoulders
For task I took it leaves no compromises
And I have to proceed along my way.
The Circle I’m approaching for the eyes is
Not terrible to bare as I must say,
My ears instead are left in dread and fright
For hearing such a furious frantic fray.
“It’s time to be prepared and step inside”
The Guide who leads me through the Hell declares
Then steadily I follow his advice
And here is what I observe and want to share:
A crowd of souls unbodied is attending
This massive rush of sound filling the air
And pressure waves like brass chains never ending
Entangles them. No chance they can take rest.
Inside the Circle, pumping glowing bending
Nine phantoms wearing masks and as for vest
Bright flames of different colours wrapped around.
From them the noise is gushing at its best:
Vibrations cutting through the space rebounds
Detuned dephased delayed in braided streaks
“What was their guilt? Who could conceive these sounds?”
I ask, hence my Guide turns to me and speaks:
“They’re here for denying nature of the tones
Which God created first so pure and meek,
For breeding sounds that rip flesh to the bones,
For giving voice to inner human yell.
Native to Gaul, doomed to this land of moans”
And shows me the way out meanwhile he tells.
Thus I can’t shirk my duty and walk ahead,
But never will forget that sonic spell.
