Virgil in Purgatory

Dante does not presume to call him by name

But poet, father, master, teacher and guide.

His respect seems paramount, but the words ring untrue.

As Virgil lived before Christ, he abides outside of grace

And is consigned to hell, lacking any chance at salvation.

It is an accident of birth, but rules are rules.

Granted, he is assigned to limbo, where some might count their blessings.

Not tortured, subjected to fire or beating. No pitchforks torment him.

But imagine an eternity without hope, of endless longing.

Even worse, he is trusted to lead Dante through hell

And up Mount Purgatory, where all dwell with expectation.

He knows from the start his fate is sealed.

Dante ascends, but the door is slammed shut on Virgil.

Heaven forfend a pagan receive admittance to this exclusive club.

His otherness is disqualifying. It’s an old story.

It is easy to imagine his disappointment at the gate,

His confusion and humiliation as he descends,

Passing lesser souls on the way up. He doesn’t even say goodbye.

One can only hope he takes solace in the company below:

Hippocrates, Ptolemy, Euclid, Homer and Horace

Reclining in the meadow, bathed in the gold of perennial dusk,

Feeling generous in the shimmering conversations,

Reveling in what he has rather than what he doesn’t

And making the best of it. All the human desires remain.

---

Larry Kilman is an American poet and journalist from New York who has spent more time outside of the US than within, living in Paris, Hong Kong, Munich, Frankfurt and currently in Johannesburg, none of it planned. He is therefore a believer in the power of serendipity and being open to the unexpected. His poetry has been influenced by this experience.