Wally Swist

translated from Italian by Wally Swist from L’Allegria/Cheerfulness (Poems 1914-1919) Nostalgia When night fades just before the springtime and it is a rare person who passes Over Paris a dark color weeping thickens In a poem of a bridge I contemplate the incalculable silence of a slender girl Our afflictions merge together And how carried

In July, our time together was impeccable: a walk
around the Common discussing After the Rains,

a film with Shakespearean twists in plot and theme;
salmon and swordfish dinners that I made for you,

All men want you.

Your hand on my thigh.

The candle flickering.

This poem is for you, father,

And not because you took me home from the hospital