Page 32 - GALIET EXILE: Dante IV+

Galiet & Galiet
and a double sin. Reminded by Adam’s exile, in Par. 26 (115-117), he must be weary neither to trespass nor disobey, hence his greatest poetic moments become as ineffable as the Hototogisu’s song. To write his visions down is to answer the call of belongingness, to journey and go back, to remember and rewrite, to relive, to understand all aspects of the Hototogisu’s flight, just as that of the eagle and falcon spanning the alpha and the omega and that which is in-between: axis and circle, pupil and eye, the cross as sword.
Many a dangerous resentful crusade: he will punish with his sword of words to prove his superior moral goodness and mortally wound the corruption of Florence, of Rome and of the Church. His quill will become his Noah’s Ark by which he will survive the flood of perjuries and reach his safe port.
Loss & Rebirth of Identity. After entering the gates of Purgatorio in Canto 9, Dante sees three stairs. Dante, mirrored in the bright and polished first step, experiences self as other. There, he learns that identity, as illusion is perennial exile. As such, it must be deleted and erased, for true identity will have permanence only when committed to the everlasting and eternal. Upon the second step, Dante sees himself reflected in a crack that forms the cross. As he identifies with Jesus, Dante also has to abandon selfhood to the fate of the cross. Upon the third step, he is restored to bodily life in palpitating and vulnerable ways: he becomes a true pilgrim journeying to St. James of his heart, and the embodiment of simplicity, piety and humility. An experience as refreshing as undergoing his ceremonial cleansing at the entrance of Purgatorio and as sacred as his baptismal immersion in the Rivers of Lethe and Eunoe. Similarly, this rebirth also initiates his purifying pilgrimage. The guardian angel inscribes the Seven P’s on his forehead. In Dante’s case, his offense requires the furthest
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