Other № 129850
Salvatore Quasimodo: Agrigentum Road
Translated from the Italian of Salvatore Quasimodo
"LÃ dura un vento che ricordo acceso
nelle criniere dei cavalli..."
Here wind endures that I recall afire
in manes of horses veering down the plain,
a wind that stains the sandstone and erodes
the hearts of statues downed onto the grass.
Oh antique soul, grey with rage, back you lean
into that wind, breathe of the delicate moss
that clothes those giants banished down by heaven.
How lonely what is left to you shall be!
Oh how much more youâd grieve if you should hear
that sound again, borne toward the distant sea
where Heseperusâ dawn already touches
the jewâs harp with its melancholic twang
in that lone cartman's throat as slowly he
ascends his moon-bathed hill, amid the dark
murmurings of the moorish olive trees.
8 comments
In addition, translating poetry is an excellent way to improve one's own technique. By putting my another poet's voice through my mouth, I feel I improve and alter my own voice. It is a way to learn to keep my subject matter in focus without letting it waver. By translating I can learn to prevent the sudden transformation of my poem into something entirely different. (Take a look at my "Written while Kayaking" for a prime example of a wavering subject.)
So translation benefits not only the reader by introducing them to fresh material, but the translator as well, who learns to write his own work better as a result.
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