Tag Archives: grapes

In Vino Veritas

We
drink in
warm sunshine
fingers of light
cascade from blue sky
reflecting off the lake
we wander through the vineyard
pausing to taste forbidden fruit
summer bursting boldly on our tongues
shades of cabernet swirl in cut crystal
as a renaissance flows within our veins
we dance in parade of emotions
bodies and souls in slow tandem
searching for unknown answers
in vino veritas
we bare our secrets
unearthing truth
for the grapes
never
lie

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2022
September 12, 2022

My husband gave me a really cool book for Christmas a few years back, “The Daily Stoic,” by Ryan Holiday. I just love this book, it is chock full of amazing quotes by the famous stoics with thoughts and annotations. I also follow Daily Stoic on Instagram, which is always entertaining and full of wisdom that makes one think. In my reading, I encountered “In Vino Veritas.” This a very interesting and meaningful quote to me, given my love of wine and general observations I’ve made throughout life.

I did a little research on the author of this quote, Pliny the Elder. There are lots of fascinating facts that I didn’t know about him. His full name was Gaius Plinius Secundus. A Roman author, lawyer and philosopher, he lived from 23 – 79 AD. He died while trying to rescue family and friends from the aftermath of the Mt. Vesuvius volcano eruption!

Pliny the Elder started out his Roman military career by serving in Germany, and he ascended to the rank of cavalry commander.  His last post was as that of a fleet commander in the Bay of Naples, where he was commissioned to supress rampant piracy of the times. He wrote the very long History of the Germanic Wars , which was comprised of twenty volumes but no longer exists.   Pliny also wrote the world’s first encyclopedia, Naturalis Historia, (Natural History). His passion was studying, investigating nature and geography, and writing about all facets of these subjects, which he compiled into 37 books as the model for encyclopediae of the future.

I decided to write a poem this week based on Pliny’s famous quote. It wasn’t the kind of topic that lends itself to a rhyme based poem or strict syllabic rhythm, so I ended up jotting down rahdom phrases that came to mind over the course of a week. When constructing and finalizing the poem last night and this morning, a double etheree ended up emerging. It’s funny how that happens! I hope you enjoy.

So here’s to Pliny the Elder… I raise my glass in a toast to truth, life, love and wine! And cheers to all for a wonderful Labor day holiday weekend!

xoxo Colleen

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pliny-the-Elder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder

https://www.livius.org/articles/person/pliny-the-elder/