Abbandonati in braccio al buio

 

Antonia Pozzi

 

Abbandonati in braccio al buio

monti

m’insegnate l’attesa:

all’alba – chiese

diverranno i miei boschi.

Arderò – cero sui fiori d’autunno

tramortita nel sole.

Abandon yourself in the arms of darkness

 

Antonia Pozzi

 

Abandon yourself in the arms of darkness

mountains

you teach me anticipation:

at dawn—churches

will become my forests.

I will burn—a candle on the flowers of autumn

dazed in the sun.

 

Translation© Matilda Colarossi 2019

This is one of Antonia Pozzi’s last poems (Milan, 13 February 1912 – Milan, 3 December 1938), and it reads like a good-bye. We do not know the precise date, but in her words we hear her desire for another life, a life that pervades the production of this author. She will, in fact, be found dead in a ditch in front of Chiaravalle Abbey, at the very young age of 26.

In the poem she awaits the day when she will become one with her mountains, her forests, which are like churches; and she, a candle on the flowers of autumn, will be consumed, lost in the light.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

 

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