IMO Thursday is a weekly rundown from the bag of opinions that sheds light on greatness in food, writing, travel, and photography. This week, The Legend of Boomie Bol - one of the very best poet bloggers in America.

The Closest I got

To an Italian lifestyle

Teaming with Mike TBA - Boomie Bol

I asked Boomie to collaborate with me on a photo and poetry piece and she accepted. I gave her a series of related photos without sharing the story behind them. I asked Boomie to interpret the images creatively and as she saw fit. She returned the following results, which I find compelling and hope you will as well. Stay tuned tomorrow as I reveal the story of these images as #10 on my Top 25 Italy Moments.

Here we go!

If this ship could speak
It will tell tales of humans
Seas travelled journeys sought

Rough rugged unkempt
This room holds the captain's heart
Even as the old clock ticks on
Reminding him of time...
It's swiftness fast fleeting
For in here he once lived with his love
Bella Donna - light of his world
His timeless love
Sailing on many adventures
Now alone and old
The room also suffers

What more could a smoke do?
Wrinkles outline his face
Each a reminder
A story
A telling of time
How then could smoking kill him
When he had lived many lives

In his face age shows
In his heart wisdom and strength
The making of a wise man

The rust wear and tear
Didn't matter to Paolo at all
The name always made him smile
Bringing back pleasant memories on and off shore

Not a visitor in 2 weeks...Paolo was quick to offer the young man some dried fish. If anything smelt worse they were these fish...
“Seduti, vedere I pesci , mangiare”...Paolo said quickly in Italian putting a piece in his mouth as if to tell his visitor it was safe to eat...
The young man could barely breathe...the smell was suffocating him from the insides...he had smelt terrible things at his job but nothing like this
Antonio, the visitor walked out briskly before he could be stopped...the ship was worse than his friend's had told him...
Paolo wasn’t always a strange man… not all, but ever since the passing of his beloved-Bella Donna as he fondly called her, he lost interest in everything except the sea and their ship…but even now the ship was beginning to suffer…
What was once a beautiful ship that carried many on journeys and adventures was now a pale reminder to its former days…rust, broken and busted windows…wear and tear everywhere, the ship suffered as Paolo continued to neglect himself…staring for hours into space while smoking like a chimney…what did the smoking matter…his wrinkles showed he was in the winter of his life, he felt free to smoke…he would be joining Bella Donna soon anyhow…
The name on the ship reminded him of memories he tried to push away…but he couldn’t run away from it…so instead of connecting with the real world, Paolo Giovanni continued to spend his days on the ship…as the clock in his once clean and alive room continued to tick reminding him that time and life was passing him by…

Boomie Bol is an exceptional Chicago based poet and creative spirit. I love the attention to subtle details in her writing which is evident in her own bio:

Putting myself out there!
Finding me- I have always played it safe, too unsure and timid for my good. Now, I have decided to come out of my shell, open myself up to life, and my purpose, and share my writings. They include poetry, stories(fiction and non-fiction), aritcles, and essays. I hope I find an honest audience.
My writings are based on my point of view abput life from my realities, dreams, and very wild fantasies. I write from my heart, I write for my heart.
Twitter :@boomiebol
Email: boomiebol@yahoo.com
Poems and Short Story by Boomie Bol photos by Michael Housewright