Multilingual Poetry * Poesie multilingue

In the specific Poesie * Multilingual Poetry section, there are the direct links to Swans.com where you will find the multilingual poems written with Guido Monte and commented by Francesca Saieva, two dear friends from whom I learned to give a new guise to poetic emotions. Sadly, Guido Monte died on December 5, 2017, he leaves to me a very special memory that will remain indelible in my heart. Here, I like to finally insert the whole textes but please note that these are more than ever linked by copyright, for any permissions please apply the requirements of the Swans.com site operator.

Thank you for your understanding.

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Africa

by G. Monte, C. Giovannoni & Masarwas (Swans – October 18, 2010)

hora dhe kwa che

spirit, awake to che

entre tú y yo
under the same sky…
miroir les yeux
où j’ai lu douleur et désespoir,
come especho los ojos de los infants
je pleure en réalisant mes limites

“africa souls from sea and earth africa spirit
africa destruction murder africa soleil africa
soleil de ténèbres africa lost forgotten people
africa échos de tout”

appears the voice of night,
cries of the awakening earth,
détras del sonido llega la aurora
soften the glimmering sky,
now silenced, i lean and listen

thora dhe kwa che che
spirit, awake to

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Ápokatástasis

Dhoruba*Tanpèt (omaggio a Derek Walcott)

by D. Walcott, G. Monte & C. Giovannoni (Swans – August 15, 2011)

“then all the nations of birds lifted together the huge net of the

shadows of this earth in multitudinous dialects…”

the brother derek says,
unity of cada cosas, of all the tongues
unity: a way of compassion,
tambien mi vista se vuelve sincera,

canción del océano!
Language of water without boundaries
bercés dans son flux, flowing without time.
E noi siamo ogni cosa e nessuna,
being Everything and Nothing… as one
Come isole isolate — secluded islands
Islas olvidadas…
drifted away long ago.
E sarà acqua che dal cielo si riversa,
water nourishes life of Earth and Oceans
avec sa force qui tout submerge,
abrumando el sentido de los dèmas.

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Confusione-Confusión-Verwirrung

by G. Monte, C. Giovannoni & P. Handke (Swans – August 25, 2011)

¿Quién tiene el derecho de juzgar?
Who has the right to judge?
Para el color de la piel,
para el sonido de palabras — lenguas extrañas,
extrañandose da la apariencia humana…

Writer who writes words
ink over pages of humanity searching for freedom
disperazione de la guerre
diserzione à la recherche de soi-même
Qui a donc le droit de juger…
si la désagrégation porte à la désertion,
à la destruction… absurdité de l’Homme!

Detrás, aún más detrás
todas las palabras pensadas,
escritas, habladas…

peter says: Warum bin ich ich und warum nicht du?
Warum bin ich hier und warum nicht dort?

deux corps imparfaits, unis — cette image
a été gravée sur les pierres par un peuple
presque disparu; dans tous les facettes de l’image
on voit l’empreinte de quelqu’un que
tu n’as pas reconnu dans son voyage secret:
un écrivain de quatre sous,
un schizophrène paranoïaque
et un ausländer turc que seulement l’esprit pénètre,
dans les corps tuméfiés de quelques cliniques psychiatriques,
jours après jours parmi les tas d’ordures et les fausses fêtes.
dans le ciel les bombardiers s’avancent dénués de sens;
il lutte en secret sans se reconnaître,
sans ressentir sa vie mystérieuse.

Behind, utterly behind,
this is the real sense of our presence…
here.

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Fliegen Ohne Flügel

by Claudine Giovannoni

& Guido Monte

(Swans – July 4, 2011)  

I wish I wasn’t me
while the wheel of time turns…
warum hast Du deine Rücken gezeigt
ohne Gefühle…
showing your back and keeping moving on?
Ages come and go,
wir leben und sterben, vivons et mourons…
Without pondering the boundaries of flesh
mais pas au-dehors…
nicht draussen…
Inside you have to search deep

l’absence de choses et d’idées
pour se regarder en soi même:
dream of a crowd, of nothing,
of vanity rapetisse en devenant lui-même néant.

Nothingness… and without meaning

How can you doubt above an unwritten destiny…
which take shape again and again
toujours nouveau, immer anders, over and over.
Un coffre-fort sans clés,
where we are all kept prisoners.

noire de fumée dans une terre mouillée :
des visages effrayés et des verres brisés.

Smoke on the waters of a wet earth…
weil fliegen ohne Flügel
a flight without wings,

is not the only path?
emprisonné

ton âme, comme

une larme
dont la destinée inconnue est

cachée

dans une chambre oubliée…
das letzte land.

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Hades

by Guido Monte

& Claudine Giovannoni

(Swans – December 3, 2012)

“kat’asphodelion leimona”
said homer,
on a grey prairie of asphodels
no light, only black
and waste darkness

am ende
we’re thoughtful stardust

sígoura

apó ta váthi

Sluggish gaze upon Hades’ flowery meadow:
But how is the color
para aquellos no familiarizados con su forma
for anyone unsure about its shape?
Blind, ciego and unaware…
only human
con pensamientos críticos y autodestructivos
de vez en cuando, de temps en temps
self-defeating thoughts.
Ciechi e privi di forma
sablier aveugle
bougie sans lumière
en la oscuridad de las sombras
only tonalidades de gris.

Homer’s Odyssey
quizás
se desmenuza, crumbles into empity
but en réalité
nous sommes que poussière d’étoiles…

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Infinite blending dream

by Guido Monte

& Claudine Giovannoni

(Swans – July 2, 2012)

Sipping from the blossom of Time:
soledad sin imagen, sed sin labios.
Schau mal deine Hande
para acabar con todo:
hands without Macht, sans pouvoir

who with us the dawn, ezra, ngirrwat, ngirrwat dreaming
“perchance to dream” said hamlet, i vanished avec le soleil
blind i’m ningún, y todos, vanitas,
and all is vanity black visible shantih
en bro a constructed bridge in the palm of my hand
am ende, when you’ll say: come
and “così è, se vi pare” dear luigi pirandello,
and it’s so if you think so

Worte im Wind, mots dans l’orage:
tierra de piedra ardiente.
Como camina el tiempo entre la muerte
und über mir bebt Lippen ohne Farbe.
Finally, here she waits…
monotone et solitaire,
into the depth
solitudine senza volto,
soif sans lèvres.

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Island water (Walcott n.3)

To Derek Walcott

by C. Giovannoni

& G. Monte

D. Walcott (Swans – September 26, 2011)  

je me trouve encore at home,
mais maintenant mon esprit
poursuit des étoiles lointaines.

Vele bianche, white sails
entre sombras de cielo y mar,
unfold the sails
white presences of reality…
Bring me to the Horizon
Déjenme borrar las ilusiones:
busquedas perdidas,
suave caricia de su isla lejana,

le rêve d’une maison au bord de la mer en été,

where the eye follows those sparkles of white,

dreaming the verses of brother derek dans ma vie,
perfect verses like

“island water”

Or is my dreaming
hecho come el agua de su mar
y los oscuros deseos?
Pasos sagrados dejan huellas de agua
over beaches,

and i see his verses
where derek sees the sail that,

“at the rain’s edge”

at last

“will lose sight of islands…”

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L’âme archétype – (lament of a prisoner)

by C. Giovannoni

& Guido Monte

(Swans – November 15, 2010)

La forteresse est l’âme qui aperçoit le continent de sable,
a fortaleza é a alma que mira ao continente de area.
Derrière le rocher que je suis en train de regarder par la fenêtre
(évident par le mot magique) je sens le coucher du soleil,
et je remets le départ à cause d’une lueur de neige sur les cailloux blancs.
Forêts, tours blanches, volcans fumants, genèse primordiale,
évocation de l’âme archétype.

Em la alma, assim… forte crença…
alà, dónde están todas los espectros antiguos.
Y yo, aquí encarcelado,
I keep my eyes upon the changing colours.
Soleil couchant, remuant les ombres,
feeble glaze of amaranths and peaches.
São as cores da paixão,
mas talvez, a ameaça da Terra ruím.
There is need of a heavy desert’s storm
in which sand may flow as water,
falaises où la mer des émotions trouve ses confins.
Just there, where dreams start
y donde la magía de la Vida termina,
and where the magic of Life ends.

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Lacrimae Rerum (Tears of Things) – Vergil

by C. Giovannoni

& Guido Monte

(Swans – August 9, 2010)

le monde présent, un seul temps ordinaire:
deuil faim soif pleurs

lacrimae rerum agony of everything

that never ends,
não se esqueça
sua pequenez e fraqueza
largo los rios lágrimas de vidas
                                 tears of lives
concepts of majestic glory into the waters—
silence et suplice reflettent l’avidité
e fosco rimane lo sguardo
and obscurely we glance up ecce homo, sunt

lacrimae rerum

men, here are the

tears of everything

for your usual irate indifference

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On a death-boat

Euripides

by C. Giovannoni

& G. Monte

(Swans – June 6, 2011)

i’m a tunisian woman,
a migrant
this is my only travel
to the sicily, along a sea
that i call mediterranean channel.

“tís d’oiden ei tò zen men ésti
catthanein… who understands if
life is death or death is life?”

true words on this death-boat
this night,

comme les navigateurs
de l’antiquité,

and i feel lonely
here, in front of black waves
they leave me to my fate.
unha boca sen respiro,
ollos sen visións inside the darkness,
but esperando una oportunidad.

Si je ferme les yeux, enfin je peux voir
la réalité qui m’est occultée…
seulement les yeux du cœur peuvent distinguer
la multitude de ces subtils enchantements qui
passent près de nous comme des gouttes d’eau.

Je peux seulement sourir, avec doucer et dignité,
à la mort qui s’approche. dans ma vie,
c’est ça le seul sens, le plus grand qui reste,
maintenant que, tout sens s’évanouit à jamais
dans le brouillard.

“who understands if life is death or death is life?”

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Pages of books

by G. Monte & C. Giovannoni (Swans – May 20, 2013)

Rescatandos los deseos
dreams et rêves
mémoires d’autres vies.
Sencillo humano y divino
Entres corazones et chansons subtiles.
Forgotten archetype views
Takes shape, into our minds…
Cuando mano los pónen
De forma forma explícita
But then a sorrow;
where personas analfabetas
les pensées restent piégées
tra rami e ricami

books: only return
of fragments, of
emotion on words’ communion along
gesti e sguardi quotidiani
common gestures and gazes
also if in far places
and far times

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Promised Land

Genesis

Black Elk

C. Magris

by C. Giovannoni (quotes Dante)

& G. Monte

(Swans – May 23, 2011)

And there was the human above absurdity
Along ages and behind understanding…

And Dante: “Halfway along our life’s path,
nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita”
Guided across the Acheron by Charon
through the limbo of the Unknown…
Where was the Polar Star,
showing the right path to follow?
Comme les navigateurs de l’Antiquité
dans la nuit, deep into the night
Navigators of the Past reaching
for the present of memories gone…
Where?
This far is your Home
où défile l’oubli de la Terre promise?
How can you find answers
if nobody can ever ask
the right questions…

If I close my eyes I see
je regarde avec les mains
qui touchent le désespoir
agony over the sea
where death embraces life.

can you tell me where
my country lies?

well,

every land can be the centre
of the world,

black elk said,
black elk,

scrittore analfabeta

deep

illiterate writer

far, but

far from where?
lontano da dove

(archetypal words-roots
from our brother claudio)
and leaves and seashells
from death-boats.

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Respiro (breath)

by G. Monte & C. Giovannoni (Swans – June 28, 2010)

De las profundidades
rien de nouveau,
mesmo respiro
of forgotten ways

¿Que mas profundo?
The force of Spirits?
When they achieve…
immortality?
Aber es gibt keine Verbindlichkeit,
wirklich…
Zeit ist vergangen…
et toi,
toujours sans espoir
buscas a las sombras
de tú respiro.

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Tamah (Darkness)

by C. Giovannoni

& G. Monte

P. Handke

(Swans – February 28, 2011)

Beyond time and believing
Derrière la passion des hommes et des femmes
Atman
Ego [sum]

Busqueda sin tiempo y lugares
Achieving nothing but emptiness
Into the core of our souls
Adentro el corason espiritual
Ta Tvam asi. That One you are
Who search for the true himself?
Duality reach meaninglessness
Who am I?
Ta Tvam asi…
Atman
Or maybe is there disbelieve
Into believing…

“Warum bin ich und
warum nicht du?”

¿Que yo no soy yo y tú no eres tú?
Un sol respiro
The flow of pure Energy
Union dans les affections

tamah
tamah, darkness
too many men inside
only to forget life and tvam, yourself

but seeing the atamanam, the unity of the whole
you cannot hate, no more

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Testigos son las estrellas (lament of a prisoner n.3)

by G. Monte

& C. Giovannoni

(Swans – January 17, 2011)

i’m always in prison, ein nichts, but my mind is now
at far away stars, a uma pessoa na beira do mar,
but suddenly the river of the time,
mto ya muda, o rio do tempo, hits me,
and i realize that i won’t be able
to arrive alive to the big chance of my life.
many years will go by, just a few through
the mountains, but too many through a man’s life.
but how to resist to the thought
that the clue moment still has to come?
mas como se faz para resistir ao pensamento
que o momento decisivo ainda esteja por acontecer?

now i’m sitting alone on a chair, nighttime. ni usiku…
but all of a sudden, no quarto coberto de escuridão,
i go close to the window,
to look at the stars again, and i smile,
i do smile, tenderly to the death
that one day will come,
that’s my last possible way of life,
now that all has disappeared as fog
sasa kila kitu kimetokomea kama ukungu
agora que tudo esvaece como névoa.

Prisonnière dans mes pensées,
même si mon esprit poursuit les souvenirs
qui m’emmènent à toi.
Slave of memories, hidden
into the cosmic power of remembering.
Flows down… aguas corrientes
pesadillas estrañas, sin formas,
que recogen polvo de estrellas
y junto a ellas, con ojos mirantes la oscuridade,
lloro lágrimas amargas.
J’ai épuisé les demandes restées sans réponses…
My trembling voice asking no more questions,
y por último, dejar esta vida?
Where am I?
Si je continue, le long de cette tortueuse chaussée,
esto ya estaba escrito, sin dudas,
sin preguntas y tampoco respuestas.
I’m human, indeed, alone and naked of all my dreams…
And when the night’ll cover up my soul,
jamais plus prisonnière de la vie,
néanmoins embrassée à la mort…
La noche ya está delante de las ventanas,
sonrisas me llenan de felicidad y ternura,
witness are the stars and the blur of thoughts alike fog,
no more sand, for me, into the clepsydra of Time…
Réveille-toi! Despiertate! Wake up!

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Wind gemidos

by G. Monte

& C. Giovannoni

(Swans – March 26, 2012)

wind gemidos of winter
of yellow, and red leaves
to a dark floor, and
stop, nothing to say
no palabra
no volver
nothing in front of
perdute nuvole-clouds
and vapours,
rain, fire, burst
chasms, segni
another dead leaf
another cloud
and dead thoughts
over my mind
of a dying animal
of desperate people
of starvation
of my times’ horror,
no word to say
in front of them

After dark, when all seems lost,
we experiment the continuity of Light!
Dualité indissoluble,
busqueda de los seres viventes
quest of humanity,
since we are all striving
recherche d’une raison
le long chemins dangereux.
Dia y noche
day and night.
Invierno followed by spring,
l’esperanza ayuda la sobrevivencia!
La condition humaine
hooked on this frustrated flesh
the only way to achieve freedom.
Liberté que n’est pas ici
not above this material world
shouldn’t be so difficult
every time I come across otra persona
souhaiter en silence, without words,
felicidad
That could be the start
poiché solo amore love
can fight against
todas las guerras,
chaque conflict…