"LUOGHI" BY ANTONIO LONARDO

I am delighted, tonight, to be able to present a new poem by Antonio Lonardo, Luoghi ["Places" ] along with my own translation. Antonio has dedicated this poem to the friends of his youth and the poem won third prize out of 514 entries in the AXA 2009 Poetry Competition held in the Comune di Rocca Canavese [Province of Turin]. The poem appears here with Antonio's kind permission.

LUOGHI

Non era, il camino, solo
l’angolo dei nostri racconti
nelle sere d’inverno,
ma la fiamma degli ideali,
veri programmi per il futuro...

Non era, la strada, solo
lo sfondo delle nostre passeggiate
anche con l’ombrello aperto,
ma l’analisi delle inquietudini
di utopisti dalla facile penna...

Non era, il fiume, solo
il tranquillo letto di acque dolci,
immaginifica meta di escursioni,
ma rapide di giovanili salti in avanti
pronti ad improvvise implosioni...

Non era, la chiesa, solo
l’inconsueto scenario di religiosi
canti condotti da ragazzi,
ma il desiderio di rinnovamento
in un ampio ecclesiale contesto...

Non era, lo studio, solo
l’assillo di continui, soffocanti esami
intellettuali, familiari e sociali,
ma anche la forte coscienza
di una scalata al culturale potere...

Non era, la vita, solo
uno sdrucito calendario
di deluse stagioni amorose,
ma la convinta percezione
di necessarie esperienze vitali...

PLACES

It was more, that fireside, than
the corner where we told stories
on those winter evenings,
but the flame of our ideals,
real plans for the future…

It was more, that street, then
the setting for our strolls
under our opened umbrellas,
but analysis of the woes
of good utopian writers…

It was more, that river, than
the tranquil bed of sweet waters,
imagined purpose of our outings,
but rapids of a youthful surge
preparing for sudden failure…

It was more, that Church, than
the odd scene of hymns
which we sang as boys,
but our desire for renewal
in a broad spiritual context…

It was more, our learning, than
the impulse for constant, stifling exams
intellectual, familial and social,
but also our strong awarenes
of the ascent towards cultural power…

It was more, that life, than
just a torn calendar
of disappointing seasons of love
but our certain discernment
of essential experiences of life…