The poet Eamonn Lynskey, who studies Italian with us at the IIC, read for us his poem April, London, translated into Italian by Anna Maria Robustelli.
EN:
April, London
In Mile End Park the daffodils
explode again and he’s* beside me
telling how they’re good as any
fringed the edge of Ullswater.
He talks about the beautiful,
the way it is inseparable
from the brutal. Think, he says,
the ghostly language of the earth:
its cresting waves: such majesty –
and threat. Its mountain peaks – reminders
of our frailty. And yet –
this splendid, fluttering host!
I think
the splendid, serried ranks that roared
at Nuremberg and prophesied
the bones and blitzmuck of this bombsite
underneath our feet. But yes,
they’re beautiful and good as any
trimmed the banks of Windermere
that spring that year. Or any year,
whatever bad our futures bring.
*
IT:
Aprile, Londra
A Mile End Park i narcisi
esplodono di nuovo e lui* è accanto a me
a raccontare che sono bravi come quelli
che sfrangiavano le sponde di Ullswater.
Parla del bello, come sia
inseparabile dal brutale.
Immagina, dice, il linguaggio
spettrale della terra: la cresta
delle sue onde: maestosità –
e minaccia. Le sue vette – promemoria
della nostra fragilità. E ancora –
questa splendida schiera svolazzante!
Io penso
agli splendidi ranghi serrati
a Norimberga che profetizzarono
le ossa e il fango del blitz
proprio sotto i nostri piedi. Ma, sì,
sono belli e buoni come quelli
che decoravano le rive del Windermere
quella primavera quell’anno. O ogni anno,
qualunque male il nostro futuro porti.
[*William Wordsworth (1770-185)]
*
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Eamonn Lynskey is an Irish poet. His poetry has been published widely on several magazines and online. He holds an M.Phil. in Creative Writing from Trinity College, Dublin and an M.A. from Dublin City University. Eamonn’s third poetry collection, It’s Time, was published by Salmon Poetry in 2017. His collection Material Support will be published next year.
Anna Maria Robustelli is a poet and translator. Some of her poetry, translated into English, is available on the Free Verse website. She curated, together with L. Magazzeni, F. Mormile and B. Porster, the following poetry collections: Corporeo, il corpo nella poesia femminile contemporanea di lingua inglese (Le Voci della Luna, 2009); La tesa fune rossa dell’amore (La Vita Felice, 2015).
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