Sunday, January 25, 2009

IL POETA

On Burns Night I think it is appropriate to celebrate poets and poetry in general, so I am delighted to be able to bring you, with Professore Lonardo's kind permission, two more of his poems with my own translations. Both are from his collection, Le Stagioni del cuore.

IL POETA

Si dilata il sé
in un'intricata visione
di sogni sospesi:
il reale si scoglie
in mille rivoli
di un policromo prisma,
illuminato da un sole,
eternamente presente
tra i chiaroscuri della vita.

The Poet

He expounds the soul
in a tangled vision
of abandoned dreams:
reality melts
into the thousand streams
of a many-coloured prism
lit by a sun
which is always there
amidst the light and shade of life.

ORACOLO POETICO

Nel respiro degli Dei
ho ritrovato la poesia:
parole del cielo,
condite con la terra
degli uomini, alla ricerca
di un ponte per la vita.

Oracolo dei Numi,
custodi di metafisici misteri
donati all'eletta umanità,
quale benefica pioggia
ristoratrice delle menti,
confuse da meschini interessi.

Oracolo dell'Universo,
quale eco di arcane forze,
incalza gli uomini
a fissare se stessi
e scoprirsi infallibili
depositari di evidenti certezze.

Oracolo dei Poeti,
inascoltati vati
di un futuro già vissuto
nel misterioso inconscio.
suggerito dalle intriganti Muse,
pronte a scogliere
gordiani nodi dall'Olimpo.

POETIC ORACLE

In the breath of the gods
I found poetry again:
words from heaven
seasoned with the earth
of men, in search
of a bridge for this life.

Oracle of the Numina,
guardians of metaphysical secrets,
a gift to chosen humanity,
like providential rain
refreshing minds
perplexed with petty concerns.

Oracle of the Universe
like an echo of arcane powers,
urging man
to look at himself
and find himself the unerring
keeper of obvious truths.

Oracle of the Poets,
unheard prophets
of a future already lived through
in the unfathomable unconscious,
inspired by the scheming Muses,
ready to untie
the Gordian knots from Olympus.

10 comments:

Ellee Seymour said...

Happy Burns' Night Welshcakes. We used to celebrate this in real style when we a lovely Scots family lived in our village with fantastic music and Scottish dancing. Unfortunately, they have moved away and I do miss their very jolly parties.

Anonymous said...

I have been practising my Latin as well (on me blog)! It is a little known fact that Robbie Burns was actually Italian ...

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Thanks, Ellee. You must miss the Scots family very much.
Hi, Mutley. Exitus acta probat. George Mikes said "Everybody is Hungarian." I think "Everybody is Italian"!

CherryPie said...

A fitting tribute to Burns night :-)

Dr. Christopher Wood said...

Talking about Burn' Night. (I am an alumnus of the University of Glasgow, and usually get an invite to attend a Burns' Night at some hotel or other in "DC", but not this year. So I did not hear the poems/speech to the haggis. Anyone on here actually eaten haggis? I saw it in a supermarket or Butcher's shop front window - I can't say I was taken to the shores of the Haggis. Haggis be Haggis and I'll be me and not eat it.

Dr. Christopher Wood said...

Ellee> I remember attending a wee bit of Scottish dancing at an International Student event in Glasgow University (or as they prefer, "the University of Glasgow"). Looking back, it was like something out of Hogwarts Castle (Harry Potter). I remember there were a few Scotsmen there - they had a good time showing the very pretty International female students the finer details of Scottish dancing. My new Canadian university flat mate took to it too. Gosh, how we forget our good friends, Robert Chouinard, if you read this give me a call you sophisticate you.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Thanks, Cherie. Hi, Dr CW. I've never had haggis either and I can't say I want to. But I do love Burns. I hope you manage to get back in touch with your friend!

jmb said...

Very nice translations Welshcakes. Appropriate post for Burns Night as you say.

Dr. Christopher Wood said...

WL> Robert was a fine guy. He was into Rush Limbaugh (spelling), I did not know who RL was until I moved to the USA and one of the partners of a law firm I worked at used to listen to him (with his office doors closed). I remember Robert having a conversation with another new flat mate (I was going into my third year at Glasgow, and the new guys replacing the guys leaving were one year MBA postgrads (who would to an MBA today?). The Greek guy was going on about Macedonia stealing a name that was Greek - I mean to say, if someone wants to call some place Cardiff in the USA, do I care? Actually, there is a place called Cardiff in the USA, and on information and belief there is a place of the same name in NZ, and no doubt there is a Wellington in the USA someplace or other. Who cares - well, Greeks care - the Greek MBA said there was or would be a million Greeks walking in protest. I sipped a cup of tea as they went at it, if I had some popcorn I would have been eating it. But popcorn does give heart burn, which brings us back to Burns night. A speech to a Haggis or two:

If a Haggis be named Robert
and answers to Chouinard, and
for good measure speaks a smattering of Canadian French, that Haggis should be spared, but if there be a Haggis that wants to claim the name Macedonia, I'd say good speed young Haggis, I have some Irn-bru for yer, now be on yer way before you feel the iron in my steel-cap-boots.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Very kind of you to say so, jmb. What a lovely story, Dr CW. You do make me laugh, in the nicest possible way!

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