from Blues for Giacomo
improvisations on poems by Leopardi
1 (Canto XIV Alla Luna)
So, Moon, here we are again one year on
from when I came to pay this hill and you,
Heaven’s agony aunt, a visit:
you hung above that wood, then as now
endowing everything with light and focus.
Except tears welling up from some recess
of woe played havoc with my eyesight
and left your face a tremulous blur. Yes,
my life was a mess. ‘Le plus ca change’ etc,
I confess, dear Moon, these days it’s messier
still. Strange how replaying past misfortune,
then setting it to words, brings such pleasure!
A side-effect of being young, I guess,
Hope having so many miles ahead, Memory
so few behind, but, recalled, even sadness
consoles. Suffering carries on regardless…
2 (Canto XXVIII A Se Stesso)
So, my tired heart, it’s the golden handshake,
the big farewell. One deceit too many,
yes, it’s over. Songsters may croon an ocean;
from now on out, stone not moonshine
be our watchword. Twittering hopes all flown,
no more eternal this or that, period.
Enough of palpitations, no matter how dear
or deluded the cause. Hush. You can despair
your last. Fate’s sole gift for the likes
of us is curtains. The world is mud,
a myriad sighs don’t shift a molehill,
boredom and bitterness take all:
In other words, relax. Set no store
by yourself or nature, let its reign
of ruin wreak its worst, heap vanity
upon vanity ad infinitum…
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Extract from Blues for Giacomo