8 Comments

Wow!!! That was incredible. To know that we weren't (and aren't) that far away from arranged marriages. The world is glad you exist either way. Thank you for sharing such an intimate poem and slice of your life, mio amico.

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gracias, Carlos! it was a tough one to write, but i needed to get it out there. i'm behind on documenting my mom's story, and i hope this helps push it along.

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Absolutely. It is sometimes harder to write about the things we care the most.

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That's an amazing story. Imagine having a life where EVERYTHING is predetermined.

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thank you, Ken. i couldn't begin to imagine it!

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Oh my Sam. Your mother was a mere child! I had no idea there was a history of arranged marriages in Italy!!! To have four children by the time she was 14 is just extraordinary and to remain together all those years. Your poem to your mother is just wonderful.

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thank you, Sally. she was a child, though she had 4 children by the time she was 20, not 14. that would have been most definitely extraordinary! but still, remarkable none the less. she was 7 months pregnant with number 4 on a 40 day boat ride from Italy to Australia. imagine that!!

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Sorry i think i was so taken aback by your mother being 12, of course the sums woukld not have matched up unless twins were involved! What an amazing lady Sam.

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