| Memoria di Firenze
di Mario Luzi
E quando resistevano sulla conca di bruma le tue eccelse pareti sofferenti nella luce del fiume tra i monti di Consuma, più distinto era il soffio della vita intanto che fuggiva; e là dove sovente s’ascoltava dai battenti socchiusi delle porte origlianti la luna la tua voce recedere in assorta stanze ma non morire, non un pianto, una musica concorde coi secoli affluiva. Senza un grido, né un sorriso per me lungo le sorde tue strade che conducono all’Eliso… |
Memory of Florence
by Mario Luzi
And when they resisted on that basin of mist your towering sorrow-ridden walls in the light of the river amid the Consuma hills, more distinct was the breath of life whilst it escaped; and whence often we listened from the shutters left ajar eavesdropping the moon your voice in rooms receding rapt but not dying, not a tear, but music concordant with the centuries flowed. Not a cry, nor smile for me along your heedless roads that lead to Elysium…
Translated by ©Matilda Colarossi
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Mario Luzi, born in Tuscany in 1914, is famous for his poetry. He was a professor at the University of Florence and published numerous works throughout the 20th century. Winner of numerous literary prizes, in 1991 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
The poem Memoria di Firenze is taken from Un Brindisi, Sansoni, Firenze, 1946 (pp 39)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
parallel texts: words reflected 