The poem “Leave-taking” closes the first edition of the collection “Il porto Sepolto”, entitled “Poesia”. It is fundamental for the understanding of Ungaretti’s relationship with words.

There is no punctuation in this “Letter” to his good friend from the front. The definition of poetry here is, for the author, humanity, and the ability to make what we have in our hearts grow, blossom: words that spring from deep within us and become life. Soul searching, delving into the abyss of our being to discover what lies there in order to rise up again.

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