Like Leaves in Autumn by Carlo Pirozzi et al sampler
Published to mark the first centenary of Italy’s entry into the Great War, Like Leaves in Autumn features 21 original Italian poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti, with new English translations by Heather Scott. These are set alongside 21 new poems by contemporary Scottish poets writing in response to Ungaretti, and are illustrated with striking black-and-white artworks from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, owned by National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.
Published to mark the first centenary of Italy’s entry into the Great War, Like Leaves in Autumn features 21 original Italian poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti, with new English translations by Heather Scott. These are set alongside 21 new poems by contemporary Scottish poets writing in response to Ungaretti, and are illustrated with striking black-and-white artworks from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, owned by National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.
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By remember<strong>in</strong>g I fold myself <strong>in</strong>to you<br />
j.l. williams<br />
No silence no present moment exists<br />
<strong>in</strong> which you do not exist<br />
The men I adore holed up dream<strong>in</strong>g<br />
eagles whose nests are bent <strong>in</strong>to mist<br />
I was <strong>al</strong>ways wait<strong>in</strong>g<br />
for you my brother<br />
lost on the road under the tree<br />
whose pa<strong>in</strong> is gold golden<br />
My father who I do not know<br />
My country who I do not know<br />
You are here f<strong>in</strong><strong>al</strong>ly<br />
<strong>in</strong> the mouth of the bird<br />
whose tongue is one I recognise<br />
whose tongue is the crab liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the mouth<br />
replac<strong>in</strong>g the tongue<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g <strong>al</strong>l your food is m<strong>in</strong>e f<strong>in</strong><strong>al</strong>ly<br />
my love<br />
Poor bird without trees<br />
whose home was given to the war<br />
who remembers the two-penny hangovers of men<br />
My only my bird whose w<strong>in</strong>g is pull<strong>in</strong>g<br />
via shoulder muscle tight with<strong>in</strong> the belly<br />
up up past the present<br />
past the observation of burn<strong>in</strong>g light<br />
<strong>in</strong> clouds over sea to the boys on the side<br />
their privilege their impatient deaths their unwritten down<br />
Their wooden rifles carried <strong>in</strong>to war<br />
Their horse-drawn carriage<br />
Their qui<strong>et</strong> mule<br />
Their mother’s dress<br />
Their warm hay b<strong>al</strong>e<br />
Their accumulation of birdsong<br />
38 like leaves <strong>in</strong> autumn
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