From Dalla La Terra Promessa (1935-1953) by Giuseppi Ungaretti
Solo ho amica la note.
Sempre potro trascorrer con essa
D’Attimo in attimo, non ore vane;
Ma tempo cui il mio palpito trasmeto
Come m’aggrada, senza mai distarmene,
Avvience quando sento.
Mentre riprende a distaccarsi da ombre,
La speranza immutabile
In me che fuoco nuovanmente scova
E nel silenzio restituendo va,
A gesti tuo terreni
Talmente amati che immortalik parvero,
Luce.
SECRET OF THE POET
from The Promised Land (1935-1953)
Only I have a friend at night.
With her, I can always spend it
From moment to moment, never in vain,
But in time, as my transitional heartbeat,
As I live it, without ever distracting me.
So, when I feel,
It tends to detach from the shadows,
The immutable hope,
That fire rediscovers in me again,
And in the silence returning it goes,
Toward your earthly gestures,
So loved that they appear immortal,
Light.
Wally Swist’s forthcoming books include, A Writer’s Statements on Beauty: New & Selected Essays & Reviews, a translation of Giuseppe Ungaretti’s L’Allegria / Cheerfulness, and Taking Care of the Horses, original poetry and translations, all with Shanti Arts. Some of his translations are forthcoming in Chicago Quarterly Review and The Montreal Review.
