Alda Merini
Yesterday died Alda Merini, maybe the greatest female Italian poet. I don’t want to spend many words here but just share one of her poems.
I wish there were more translations of her works but i couldn’t find an English version of this one, so just Italian with my rough English translation, i hope the beauty of her words won’t get lost.
Non ho bisogno di denaro.
Ho bisogno di sentimenti,
di parole, di parole scelte sapientemente,
di fiori detti pensieri,
di rose dette presenze,
di sogni che abitino gli alberi,
di canzoni che facciano danzare le statue,
di stelle che mormorino all’ orecchio degli amanti.
Ho bisogno di poesia,
questa magia che brucia la pesantezza delle parole,
che risveglia le emozioni e dà colori nuovi.
English Translation:
I do not need money.
I’m in need of feelings,
of words, of words carefully chosen,
of flowers called thoughts,
of roses called presences,
of dreams living in the trees,
of songs making the statues dance,
of stars whispering to the lovers’ ear.
I’m in need of poetry,
this magic that can burn the heaviness of words,
that can wake up emotions and paint new colors.
eventually a reading will follow.
Alda Merini RIP, we’ll always be thankful for the gift of your poetry.
