from L’Allegria by Giuseppe Ungaretti
Versa il 27 aprile 1916
Nel molle giro di un sorriso
ci sentiamo legare da un turbine
di germogli di desiderio
Ci Vendemmia il sole
Chiudiamo gli occhi
per vedere nuotare in un lago
infinite promesse
ci rinveniamo a marcare la terra
con questo corpo
che ora troppo ci pesa
EASTERN FRONT
In the soft lap of a smile
we are caught up by a whirlwind
of sprouts of desire
The sun harvests us
We close our eyes
to watch infinite promises
swimming in a lake
We find ourselves marking the earth
with this body
that is now too heavy for us
Wally Swist’s books include Huang Po and the Dimensions of Love (Southern Illinois University Press). He was selected by Yusef Komunyakaa as co-winner in the 2011 Crab Orchard Series Open Poetry Contest, and A Bird Who Seems to Know Me: Poems Regarding Birds & Nature and the of the 2018 Ex Ophidia Press Poetry Prize.
