Thursday, June 04, 2009

"SINFONIA INTERROTTA" BY ANTONIO LONARDO

This poem is published here with Professore Antonio Lonardo's kind permission, along with my own translation:

SINFONIA INTERROTTA

Era stata suonata
la sinfonia della vita
al pianoforte, insieme
all’orchestra della storia:
ogni nota, un momento felice;
ogni insieme, una festa.

Erano alte le vibrazioni,
in sintonia perfetta
dell’amore filiale
per mamma e papà,
che muovevano le lancette
brillanti dell’anima.

Era lo spettacolo sentito
di uomini tesi a
rendere radiosi i giorni
di un interminabile calendario,
edenico tempo
riservato ad eletti.

Si è improvvisamente annullata
la geografia della pienezza,
per l’inattesa ed incrociata
eclisse di sole e luna
in tempi ravvicinati,
mai utopicamente previsti.

Quelle pareti di vetro,
consone ad osservare sempre
il luminoso orizzonte circostante,
sono diventate muraglia
di foglie morte, entro cui
il buio solennemente impera.

Quel mirabile concerto,
di parole ed esempi
continuamente vibrati
in eco solenni,
terribilmente si è spento
nell’abbandono inatteso.


INTERRUPTED SYMPHONY

The symphony of life
had been played
on the pianoforte, together
with the orchestra of history:
every note, a happy moment;
every composition, a feast.

Loud were the vibrations,
in perfect harmony
with filial love
for mum and dad,
who moved the shining
hour-hands of the soul.

It was the performance heard
by men straining
to make the days radiant
in an unending calendar,
an Edenic time
reserved for the élite.

The geography of abundance
was suddenly wiped out,
by the unexpected crossing
eclipse of sun and moon
brought together at times,
never utopistically foreseen.

Those walls of glass,
having always observed
the luminous surrounding horizon,
became barriers
of dead leaves, among which
darkness solemnly reigns.

That wondrous concert,
of words and examples
continually vibrating
in solemn echo,
was, terribly, extinguished
in unexpected abandonment.
- From Le Stagioni del Cuore [Modica, 2008] and Il Profumo del Pensiero - The Essence of Thought [Edizioni Nuovi Poeti, 2009].


5 comments:

CherryPie said...

A very powerful poem

Mary said...

Hi SS, I sometimes cannot post because my blogger name goes AWOL. You must miss out by not allowing the anonymous comment. Still, lots of love from a, back on line, admirer.
I loved the poetry and the presenter/interpreter. You seem to have a lovely life, in Italy and I send my best wishes from Oz

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Hi, Cherie. Prof Lonardo will be pleased. Hi, Mary. Sorry about that. I used to allow anonymous comments but discovered it is better not to. I am pleased that you like the poetry. I do have a good life here but it is not without its difficulties! Lots of love to you from Sicily, too.

jmb said...

A wonderful poem Welshcakes and a great translation as usual.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Many thanks from both of us, jmb.

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