Serena Cavallini
A Guileless Heart
Listen to Serena Cavallini reading her poem in Italian
Like a silk scarf washed and ironed
then stowed back in its drawer, the pain I feel
weighs down, lies unmoving, becomes normal,
deserves no attention, it’s old news.
It mixes with the people in the street
who chatter about nothing, their wits astray,
trample on language and never give it a thought.
Yet if I meet a pair of hybrid eyes
shining with sympathy and stunned wonder
the grey around me turns blue as the sky,
even a smile unexpectedly kindles.
But as he tries to come and meet my gaze
his master violently pulls him away,
he turns, a touch confused, and disappears.
translation by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
italiano
Like a silk scarf washed and ironed
then stowed back in its drawer, the pain I feel
weighs down, lies unmoving, becomes normal,
deserves no attention, it’s old news.
It mixes with the people in the street
who chatter about nothing, their wits astray,
trample on language and never give it a thought.
Yet if I meet a pair of hybrid eyes
shining with sympathy and stunned wonder
the grey around me turns blue as the sky,
even a smile unexpectedly kindles.
But as he tries to come and meet my gaze
his master violently pulls him away,
he turns, a touch confused, and disappears.
translation by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
italiano