train from firenze to milan

train from firenze to milan
2 December 1998

This morning on the train to Pisa, the first hint sun in a week graced Tuscany hillsides. Il Duomo reflected sunlight onto the green embankment and young students shed their bulky coats for the pleasure of spring air on tired skin.

But coming out of a tunnel on a train from Firenze to Milan, gloom and fog persist, trapped within the confines of the Apenines. I press my hand against the window, chilled and frosty, and stare into the periwinkle afternoon.