domingo, 20 de agosto de 2006

IN MEMORIAM

LA MADRE

E il cuore quando d'un ultimo battito
avrà fatto cadere il muro d'ombra,
per condurmi, Madre, sino al Signore,
come una volta mi darai la mano.

In ginocchio, decisa,
sarai una statua davanti all'Eterno,
come già ti vedevo
quando eri ancora in vita.

Alzerai tremante le vecchie braccia,
come quando spirasti
dicendo: Mio Dio, eccomi.

E solo quando m'avrà perdonato
ti verrà desiderio di guardarmi.

Ricorderai d'avermi atteso tanto,
e avrai negli occhi un rapido sospiro.

GIUSEPPE UNGARETTI


I was about 18 when I read this poem for the first time, and my mother was lying in a hospital bed with a cancerous brain tumour. There was no possible hope in a successful operation. Six months later she would pass away.

«You are always with me, Mum. You live forever in my heart.»

Get acquainted with Ungaretti's poetry by means of:

Selected Poems of Giuseppe Ungaretti
translated by Dr. Allen Mandelbaum
Book, 228 pages, Random House (?), January 1975, ISBN 0801408504

Giuseppe Ungaretti: Selected Poems (Bilingual)
translated by Andrew Frisardi
Paperback, 320 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, April 2004, ISBN 0374528926

3 comentários:

FletcherBeaver disse...

I wish it was in English, so I could read it.

RIC disse...

Not all is lost, I think. I'll look for an English translation. You'll get it as soon as I find it.
Thank you very much, Chris!

RIC disse...

Ja, Hans, es ist eine ganz schwere, wahnsinnige Zeit für mich gewesen. Als ob es erst gestern gewesen wäre...
Das Gedicht war trotx allem eine gute Hilfe...
Danke!