Journal of Italian Translation

Adria Bernardi/Raffaello Baldini
you couldn’t see a thing anymore,
a dense fog, in gusts, it forced you to close your eyes,
I was in a downpour, and below, it was
the end of the world, water, you could hear it slapping
against the walls, my face was being sloshed,
I saw a rope, I grabbed it, up we go,
I found myself behind the wing,
there was a board, like over a war trench,
careful now, all the way to an iron door,
I pulled it open, a hallway with red carpet,
but these are the different tiers, I saw “Level II” written,
some stairs, up, “Level III,” wait a second,
that tier with the open door, let’s have a look,
I went in, I looked down, oh mother,
people, seats, it was all water,
on the surface, there were furs,
gloves, hats,
and it’s still rising, the first tiers are already submerged,
the second tiers are under too, but why am I standing here watching,
you need to get up higher,
come on now, this is the upper balcony, this is the snack bar,
I jumped up onto the counter, I got through,
then stuff everywhere, jam-packed, a storage area, huge boxes,
crates, sacks, empty bottles,
if I come down wrong on my foot, ouch, my head!
what did I hit it on? is it bleeding? on this iron pipe,
I worked my way behind it, careful, it’s the handrail
of another staircase, water, below, listen to
it rumbling, I ran as fast as I could,
I took it two stairs at a time,
a door, I grabbed the door handle,
it gave, it opened, and all the lights were blazing,
it’s town hall, the meeting chambers,
there wasn’t a soul,
I passed through it, into the engineering department,
from there into the archives, another staircase, this one’s stone,
narrower, Jesus, look at these pendulums,
it’s the town clock, they’re nothing but bricks attached to a piece of
wire,
and what is happening down below?
it looks like a storm at sea, over there is an opening,
three steps, a tiny gate,
what’s all this stuff flying around, pigeons?
I was underneath the roof tiles, where’s that music coming from?
be careful walking, it’s all just laths,
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