.
Waves on sandy beach, Cabo Polonio, Uruguay: photo by Johntex, 2006
..These wandering landscapes of the ocean's
Shifting surface, the incisive
Candour of daybreak on these
Or those leaves: these things no longer
Draw me; nor can my old eyes make
Out light from shade against the stones.
..Forgot, what would I want
With images?
Leaves of European Birch (Fagus): photo by The cat, 2006
..Non più m'attragano i paesaggi erranti
Del mare, né dell'alba il lacerante
Pallore sopra queste o quelle foglie;
Nemmeno più contrasto col macigno,
Antica notte che sugli occhi porto.
..Le immagini a che prò
Per me dimenticata?
Per me dimenticata?
Foggy sunset with Brown Pelicans: photo by Mila Zinkova, 2009
Giuseppe Ungaretti: Poem IX (Non più m'attragano i paesaggi erranti) from Cori descrittivi di stati d'animo di Didone (Choruses Descriptive of the State of Mind of Dido), in La terra promessa (The Promised Land), 1950; English translation by TC
4 comments:
I'm so glad that as I was about to shift location, I shifted to this instead.
"these or those leaves" "Forgot"
Reading this remarkable piece on a Sunday morning and seeing the two seascapes makes me very happy to be alive. It also makes me wish that I could read Italian and that I might have met Giuseppe Ungaretti, though I know that sometimes meeting people can shift and spoil the whole thing. Curtis
Another beautiful poem came to mind.
Thanks so much, fellows.
Sometimes (as you both undoubtedly know) doing a post can be a less than rewarding experience.
Then again, sometimes there's that curious "worth-the-trouble" feeling. All it takes is a word or two.
Beautiful post, Tom. Thank you.
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