Journal of Italian Translation

Luigina Bigon
Luigina Bigon was born in Padua, where she currently lives. For most
of her life she has dedicated her energies and talent to the artistic ornamentation
of high fashion women’s shoes. Her creations are exhibited in the
Small Egyptian Room of the Villa Foscarini-Rossi Museum in Stra, Venice.
She is also profoundly interested in poetry and has published three volumes:
Bartering for Dreams (Clessidra, 1989, English translation by Adeodato
Piazza Nicolai), Blacklight (Maseratense, 1995) and Searching for O (Panda,
2001). She originated and edited the poetry series “…in Verse”, publishing
the following titles: Walking…in Verse (Panda, 1996), Gelato…in Verse (Media-
diffusion, 1997) and Eyeglasses…in Verse (Panda, 1998). Founder, in
1989, of the poetry group UCAI of Padua (Union of Catholic Italian Artists),
she was its president until 2004. On occasion of the 40 th anniversary of the
Vajont tragedy, she edited the commemorative volume Vajont. Padua and Its
Artists (Imprimenda, 2003, translated into English by Adeodato Piazza
Nicolai).
I corpi allungati
Salgono le voci al Dio piangente
lamento, anime e lance
sotto la gola, inchiodano
corazze e morsi
nel violetto senza pace.
Calano le brume sui colli
preghiere,
gocce d’acqua sulle pietre.
Si alza il velo della memoria,
un flusso trascende l’accento
posto a confine tra la materia
e lo spirito. Voce solitaria
la parola del mondo
mi grida dentro, quasi urla.
Altre genti popolano l’eco
di un profondo umano
che si nutre del tempo
e del luogo, senza misura.
Vestiti di nero, i corpi allungati
quasi si perdono nei volti esangui
di una civiltà che si consuma nello sguardo
di chi implora giustizia
non più nell’ora della morte
ma del perdono.