28 Benedizioni di Rita
Preface
During late summer of 2015, I clearly heard a voice from God. He said, “Michael, I am sending you a gift, but it’s not an ordinary one”. What could possibly be conventional from our Holy Father, anyhow?
He continued, “A girl that is very uncommon. Yes, she’s beautiful, but she’s a tough one, and I’ll explain: you know what ‘zero tolerance’ is, I’m sure; however, can you comprehend what this means if it’s retroactive?”
He smiled at me, with His all-knowing eyes. It felt as if I was in for either the most magnificent adventure of my life, or the most heartbreaking. We’ve all been there before, especially on the worst side, but I’ve always felt that ‘the one for me’ was at least a remote possibility.
Her name is Rita Conestabile. She is in her mid-50’s, a stunning mother of three, a breast cancer survivor, a rock and roll singer, and classic raven-haired/dark eyed Italian. However, what is most seductive about her is her spirit, passion, intuition, and compassionate love of life and people.
Now why would any of you care about this author, falling in love?
Well, most would not, save for our daughters, sons, some relatives and friends. Perhaps this volume of poetry and prose might conceivably evoke some of your collective past reminiscences, or even present day relationships and quite possibly inspire further affection for one another. Who can predict? But sometimes it’s just worth a shot.
The very concept of divine intervention has been experienced, discussed and debated for time immemorial. I have been convinced of specific events in my life. We all have; however, this convergence of ‘Rita and Michael’ might be the most telling of all! The myriad of connections, some of them seemingly ancient, yet so many of them within cognitive grasp, have absolutely convinced us, and for the very first time in either of our lives, that God’s hand is at play here. Fate, undeniably, most blessed and most welcomed.
Some will be skeptical. That’s fair. Still, I know what I know, and Rita does, too.
I could readily show proof positive of what I am writing, but I will let the poetry and prose speak for itself. Then, YOU might know!
With regards to this, I want my daughters, Jade and Sierra, to trust that I am still alive and well in this particular realm of emotions and love. They have witnessed their dad’s pain quite a lot, and I will forever be grateful to them for being not only daughters, but best friends and soul mates.
I also want Rita’s children, Max, Sean and Rachel, to also realize that their mom has found someone she unconditionally loves, and that is equally devoted to her. And, that their acceptance of me means quite a lot.
Again, all of this sounds so damn personal, but love is universal, is it not?
I never thought that I would or could write something as unconcealed as this. In the past, my initial thoughts of another doing this would drive me crazy. Yet, actually experiencing something so profound made this venture quite possible and rather easy.
Dr. Zhivago’s dedication to Lara might have been a subconscious inspiration years ago, but that was Pasternik’s famous Russian novel.
One realizes, too, that most well-known poets have written of love.
Still, do any of you have this intense and truly divine aspect of your emotional make-up, regarding a person that you’d literally die for, other than your children?
Those that personally know me realize that I am a romantic, at least in intention and belief. I have failed many times at this, as you will read, but the great powers previously mentioned are beyond Rita’s and my control.
Again, nothing so profound has ever happened for either of us, and yes, maybe it’s our collective ages and our experiences of life’s numerous battles, some won but many lost, that have helped to shape and lead the two of us into this.
Possibly after groaning out loud, I trust that my friends and family and especially my girls will eventually understand this endeavor. Hopefully the end result and assessment will be most favorable.
Rita wrote to me:
Most deeply in love
Most certainly was she
Exalted by one
As brilliant as he
So, there it was. How does one not comprehend the pure magnificence of such poetry directed at one’s self? Simply put, this overwhelmed yours truly.
I have answered in kind…
Most sincerely,
Michael André Fath
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