Swans Commentary »
September 22, 2008
Mondana Commedia n.2: Purgatorio
(World Comedy n.2: Purgatory)
A. Phipps, G. Monte, A. Neher
by Guido Monte & Alison Phipps
Multilingual Poetry
M'illumino
d'immenso
(I light up
of immense)
—Giuseppe Ungaretti, Mattina (1916)
Teach us to care and not to care
Teach us to sit still
Oshietamou, kamaukotowo, kamawanukotowo
Oshietamou, tada arukotowo
—T. S. Eliot, from Ash Wednesday
(translated into Japanese by Kazue Daikoku)
Shackle of Dostoevskij© 2008 Guido Monte
|
(Swans - September 22, 2008)
Dear, Caro, Cara Thank you.
There are
[echoes]
other
endlessly other worlds
(une mesure de silence)
filling the cracks
the crevices
embroidering gossamer
brightly spinning the
coins of speech across the film
of my breath
patterning with my
gold thread
Não e facíl.
Não e.
[and the thread vibrates
with the echo
a figure, a dancer perhaps]
Leaf.
Enfant.
Kind.
Ciottoli.
Pebbles.
Parole.
Prière.
gratias tibi
unpredicting the future
decreating this woman
unravelling the gold
in her words.
[comme en apparence de rêve
as if a dream
nous traversons la porte d'ivoire
we're going beyond...]
où donc est la fin ?
l'espérance est dans le risque
et dans son silence
scrivi senza scrivere,
write without writing
pensa senza pensare
think without thinking
para reconocer sombras verdaderas
y sueños falsos
(malgré tout!)
Do continue.
this conversation.
Alison Phipps is Professor of Languages and Intercultural Studies at the University of Glasgow.
Photo: Chain of Dostoevskij, by Guido Monte (2007). It shows a shackle to the chain Fedor Dostoevskij was held on to during his Siberian incarceration at a katorga prison camp in Omsk.
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Internal Resources
Poetry
Arts & Culture
About the Author
Guido Monte on Swans (with bio). Also, please check Guido's entry on Wikipedia.
Legalese
Please, feel free to insert a link to this work on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge, or repost this work on the Web or any electronic media. Inlining, mirroring, and framing are expressly prohibited. Pulp re-publishing is welcome -- please contact the publisher. This material is copyrighted, © Guido Monte 2008. All rights reserved.
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