Poetry
Three Poems from "Il Dore" ("Sorrow")
Giuseppe Ungaretti
Ora potro' baciare solo in sogno
Le fiduciose mani . . .
E discorro, lavoro,
Sono appena mutato, temo, fumo . . .
Come si puo' ch'io regga a tanta notte? . . .
Now I can kiss your trusting hands
Only if I sleep and dream . . .
And I go on talking, I work,
I've hardly changed at all, I'm afraid, I smoke . . .
How can I bear the weight of so much night?
Mai, non saprete mai come m'illumina
L'ombra che mi si pone a lato, timida,
Quando non spero piu' . . .
Never, never will you know
How that shade who comes to lie timidly beside me
When I no longer hope
Fills me with light.
Fa dolce e forse qui vicino passi
Dicendo: "Questo sole e tanto spazio
Ti calmino. Nel puro vento udire
Puoi il tempo camminare e la mia voce.
Ho in me raccolto a poco a poco e chiuso
Lo slancio muto della tua speranza.
Sono per te l'aurora e intatto giorno."
It's mild today. Perhaps you pass nearby
And say: "This sunlight and this space
Will calm you now. In the pure wind
You can hear time walking, you can hear my voice.
Little by little I've gathered into me, enclosed,
The mute leap of your hope.
I am for you the dawn, the untouched day."
English translations by Ann McGarrell