Quando la luce si riversò da uno spiraglio fra le nubi,
capimmo che il grande poeta si sarebbe mostrato. E così fu.
Scese da una limousine con le gomme bianche e vetri
fumé, quindi con andatura nitida e felpata,
entrò nella hall. Si fece silenzio. Aveva ali grandi.
Il taglio dell'abito, la larghezza della cravatta, erano datati.
Quando parlò, l'aria parve sbiancata da grida immaginarie.
Il tarlo del desiderio penetrò nel cuore di tutti i presenti.
Avevano le lacrime agli occhi. Il grand'uomo era al massimo.
"Non c'è fretta," disse concludendo la lettura "la fine
del mondo è solo la fine del mondo che conoscete."
Tipico di lui, pensarono tutti. Poi non lo si vide più,
e il mondo fu vuoto. Faceva freddo e l'aria era ferma.
Ditemi, voi laggiù, cos'è in fondo la poesia?
È possibile morire senza averne almeno un po'?
Mark Strand
L'inizio di una sedia
a cura di Damiano Abeni
The Great Poet Returns
When the light poured down through the holes in the clouds,
We knew the great poet was going to show. And he did
A limousine with all white tires and stained-glass windows
Dropped him off. And then, with a clear and soundless fluency,
He strode into the hall. There was a hush.His wings were big.
The cut of his suit,the width of his tie, were out of date.
When he spoke,the air seemed whitened by imagined cries.
The worm of desire bore into the heart of everyone there.
There were tears in their eyes.The great one was better than ever.
“No need to rush”, he said at the close of the reading,”the end
Of the world is only the end of the world as you know it.”
How like him,everyone thought.Then he was gone,
And the world was a blank. It was cold and the air was still.
Tell me, you people out there, what is poetry anyway?
Can anyone die without even a little?
We knew the great poet was going to show. And he did
A limousine with all white tires and stained-glass windows
Dropped him off. And then, with a clear and soundless fluency,
He strode into the hall. There was a hush.His wings were big.
The cut of his suit,the width of his tie, were out of date.
When he spoke,the air seemed whitened by imagined cries.
The worm of desire bore into the heart of everyone there.
There were tears in their eyes.The great one was better than ever.
“No need to rush”, he said at the close of the reading,”the end
Of the world is only the end of the world as you know it.”
How like him,everyone thought.Then he was gone,
And the world was a blank. It was cold and the air was still.
Tell me, you people out there, what is poetry anyway?
Can anyone die without even a little?
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