After the sunset, I promised myself a white iris.

It’s been over three months since I returned from Italy, and it feels like I’ve been living an unfinished dream, losing myself in a dreamlike state, yet knowing that the present is my own golden age.💕💕💕 I’ve always had Florence on my mind—I prefer its old name, Firenze, calling it by its original name like a lover. From the pure and passionate “Hello/Hi, xx” at first sight, to the deep and lingering “xx, I love you,” and the solemn “Yes, I do, xx” of a vow.😀😀😀 During my four days and three nights in Firenze, I watched two sunsets (the other one was in Siena). The sunset at Michelangelo Square was a fated encounter in the dimly lit night, while the sunset at the Ponte Vecchio was the anticipation of meeting a muse around the corner.🗽🗽🗽 Perhaps it stems from the poet and Renaissance pioneer Dante, who, on the old bridge, once again encountered his lifelong muse, Beatrice. Driven by love, he wrote the timeless masterpieces *La Vita Nuova* and *The Divine Comedy*.😍😍😍 An unexpected encounter led to a lifetime of remembrance and earned him the esteemed title of “il Sommo Poeta (The Supreme Poet).” Their first meeting at age nine, their reunion at eighteen, her death at twenty-six, and his own passing at fifty-six—how am I to understand this love that transcends time and space, a separation that lasts forever yet accompanies one’s entire life, a spiritual attachment that spanned thirty years? Perhaps every time Dante thought of the old bridge, no matter the season or where he was, he would remember the fleeting glimpse of the young girl. The Song Dynasty poet Lu You’s verse, “Beneath the heartache bridge, the spring waves turn green, once a startled swan’s reflection came,” comes to life here, a hauntingly beautiful love, incomplete yet perfect in its imperfection. There’s an Italian love phrase: “I don’t want diamonds, I want the irises you bring back from Florence.” The irises that belong to Dante must be blue, symbolizing unrequited love and secret admiration. And I promised myself a white iris after the sunset, pure and sacred, a fleeting glance in a crowd, my soulmate and muse. Finally, I end with “It is the love that moves the sun and the other stars,” wishing everyone who believes in love will eventually meet the magician who can move the universe. Goodnight. “L’amor che move il sole e l’altre stelle.” —— Dante ❤️ #Sunset #LoveAtSunset #Dante #PonteVecchio #MichelangeloSquare #WantedToRecordThisMoment #BornPassionateAndFree #RecorderOfARomanticLife #Firenze