Salt and Vinegar, i.m. Giovanni (Nino) Ciamberlano
The role of the poet as ‘official mourner’ is not one I relish, nor am I particularly good at it.
But every now and then a poem arrives in a timely enough fashion to bid arrivederci to someone whose presence among us I didn’t realise I valued as much as I do.
This poem, Salt and Vinegar, came to me a couple of nights ago, after hearing of the passing of the late Nino Ciamberlano, proprietor of Nino’s Take-Away and Restaurant on upper Main Street in my native Portlaoise, and therefore a kind of distant neighbour when we were down the street on the opposite side. I offer it here for Nino’s family and friends, and for all the families, from wherever, who have enriched and continue to enrich Irish life.
Sentite condoglianze.
5 February 2025
5 February 2025
