Under the great tree
Planted by San Francesco
Almost a thousand years ago.
We first met here when we were kids
And the tree was but a baby,
Two lovers linked by a forbidden passion.
We fled from a world that did not understand us,
That wanted to strip us of our identity as creators,
And chain us to a living death
Imprisoned in a frigid marriage or a barren convent cell.
Therefore, we renounced God and Paradise
For a life of blood hidden under the shadows,
For a life of death and undying love.
Rosalind Resnick
April 8, 2014