American Bonetti

 The American Bonetti

In a small fishing village in Sicily,

Nineteen hundred and twenty-three

 

Lived a girl of fifteen named Lucia Bonetti,

With her father Fidelis and brother Rossetti.

 

Life had been hard as it sometimes can be,

Meager work for Fidelis to support the three.

 

He did what he could, to earn and to save,

Though always with sadness since his wife took her grave.

 

He saved every Lira as part of his scheme,

To take his shot at the American dream.

 

Months passed but finally he’d financed the trip,

For his family on a colossal steamship.

 

At last, the day came, they said their goodbyes.

Packing their clothes, and personal supplies.

 

“Why must we leave home Papa?” Lucia said.

“Bambina, we must go, your mother is dead.”

 

“There is nothing here for us anymore.

I want more for you than to be here, and poor.”

 

“There are great things to come, our hardship is brief.”

 but Lucia knew, Pa left to outlive his grief.

 

She wrapped her hand tightly inside of her pocket,

Around the gold chain that held Mama’s locket.

 

Taken from her dresser when no one saw,

Lucia’s secret treasure, tying her, to her Ma.

 

So, they sailed away together from Sicily,

On a ship called San Giorgio, to New York City.

 

Papa told the kids that the omen was great.

Saint George would protect them from plague and ill-fate.

 

The passage was long, and morale was bleak,

Cold, damp, cramped quarters, for the sick and the weak.

 

But by the grace of their patron saint,

Their arrival was mostly free of complaint.

 

They stepped off the ship, aligned single file and 

Joined thousands of immigrants at Ellis Island.

 

In long lines they waited to prove themselves able,

To build a new life, pay taxes, be stable.

 

Those who lacked funding or family to join,

Were sent back to their homeland with nary a coin.

 

When the time came, to determine their fate,

The Bonetti’s found themselves in a staunch stalemate.

 

The man at the counter demanded a bribe,

“Something for me, then your names I’ll inscribe.”

 

“Otherwise, it’s back home you go.

Decide quickly! See? The lines - they grow.”

 

Papa had nothing to offer this man.

No money to spare, no backup plan.

 

Lucia knew a return, Papa wouldn’t survive.

His heart so broken, he was barely alive.

 

All hope remained here, in this strange new land,

And so, from her pocket, she pulled out her hand.

 

She said not a word, her tongue-tied with fears.

As her fingers opened, her eyes filled with tears.

 

The man grabbed her treasure, without hesitation,

Mama’s locket ensuring their life in this Nation.

 

Papa was silent as they left that place.

But he lifted her chin and raised up her face.

 

She saw in his eyes, love, and hope steady,

And knew they were now the American Bonetti.

 

Lucia smiled as she thought of the life they would build,

And for the first time, in her heart, she was thrilled.