Giacomo Leopardi inspired me to write this Book on 'Sunset Love'. He was
inspired by a young woman across the street from him when he wrote his
famous poem 'A Silvia". I was looking for a name close to Silvia to be the main
character in my book on third age love and I found it... I wanted to pick up on
the theme of love and explore in greater detail the various manifestations of
this very complex and yet simple sentiment.
The episodes of this book are fictional in nature but relate to some real life
personal experiences of mine and of people whom I met after the love of my
life, my wife, died too early at the beginning of my own third age. No reference
is made to anyone single individual. However I did write the poems as if my
ideal person for friendship, companionship and love combined well in my
quest for love in my sunset years.
A love that is much more than a simple physical relationship. The main
character in this book, Silvana in this series of episodes, gave me the
opportunity to appreciate the suave manner, her shining eyes and captivating
smile which continued to prod me along with my writing. She mesmerized me
just like Silvia who gave Italian literature one of its greatest love poems! But
unlike Leopardi's Silvia, may Padula's Silvana give our third age readers hope
for fortune in finding their own sunset love!
To all who are in their sunset years and are on their own because of failed
relationships or sickness or death, the quest for love remains intact. I hope
that you, the reader, enjoy these 'poems' as much as I have done writing them.
Tom Padula - Melbourne, October 2019
