A Way or Course

Roads that go straight somewhere and roads that go nowhere. Grey haired spinsters who drink hot water in Florence, Italy, and young ladies who study the Old Masters. Vague females in the background, bold females at the forefront; dusty and tousled, maybe wearing spectacles, or daring and beautiful. Roads of inspiration; roads of occupation. Roads that are less Victorian, or Edwardian, and more bohemian, though still leading mostly to marriage and children, and perhaps lovers. Roads that went somewhere, then went nowhere, nowhere in particular; straight roads whose end is met with suddenly, stopped short.

Picture credit: The Tuscan Road, 1899, Amedeo Modigliani

Written March 2022.