TRANSLATED FROM THE ITALIAN BY THE AUTHOR AND ANNA ARESI

Italy (Is a Pomegranate Tree?)

In my life I have bought and transplanted one tree only
a pomegranate tree

I chose a spot in the orchard
from where you can see the cloister of mountains
from the San Gabriele to the Nanos
the ridge that was Italy once then Yugoslavia and then Slovenia
it was a land of pain and resentment

borders should be like horizons
when you move they move too
if you stop they stop with you
but they always make you feel in the exact center of the world

and homeland is where
a man plants a pomegranate tree
and can wait to eat its fruit

When They Told You

to N.C.

What a beautiful word nesting is – what a beautiful word: nesting
it gives the idea of returning to put down roots

“The cells have nested
on the upper wall of the liver
metastasizing from their pulmonary dwelling”

I keep these lines ten centimeters away from my heart
and try to understand
if they really are dedicated to me

it is not the first time that my poems
scare me as I reread them
they say what I was unknowingly holding up inside

but it was not me who wrote this one
and this is the hardest part

Kettler

When the children were young
I absolutely loved taking them to the swings
hopping onto the one next to them
with the pretext of keeping them company
and swinging in that breathtaking way
when at the apex of your flight you drop to the ground
yet never touch it

now I don’t
I don’t have to take anyone anymore
but I have never taken apart the swings in the yard
I’m out of excuses
I’m not looking for excuses
let’s see if I’ve grown up enough
to face joy alone.

Also, read a book review of I’m Your Poet: Selected Poems  by Nilim Kumar , reviewed by Aritra Sanyal, and published in The Antonym:

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