"Novembre" (November) by Giovanni Pascoli, from the collection "Myricae" (1891)

Edvard Munch. A ploughed Field (‘Pløyemark‘), 1916 (private collection).

"The Poems of Giovanni Pascoli: Translated in English, with Original Italian Text," published by LiteraryJoint Press (2017). Also available as Amazon ebook (Free on Kindle Unlimited!)  and also on Kobo.

November

Gem-like is the air, so bright the sun

that you seek the blooms of the apricot,

and the bitter scent of the hawthorn

lingers in your heart.

But dried-up is the haw, and the scrawny boughs

weave black threads against the serene blue,

empty is the sky, and when stumped the earth

resounds as hollow.

Silence around: only, at the wind's gusts,

you hear afar, from gardens and orchards,

a frail falling of leaves. It is the cold

summer, of the dead.

Novembre

Gemmea l'aria, il sole così chiaro

che tu ricerchi gli albicocchi in fiore,

e del prunalbo l'odorino amaro

senti nel cuore…

  Ma secco è il pruno, e le stecchite piante

di nere trame segnano il sereno,

vuoto il cielo, e cavo al piè sonante

sembra il terreno.

  Silenzio, intorno: solo, alle ventate,

  odi lontano, da giardini ed orti,

  di foglie un cader fragile. È l'estate

  fredda, dei morti.

From the collection “Myricae” (1891-1900)

"The Poems of Giovanni Pascoli: Translated in English, with Original Italian Text," published by LiteraryJoint Press (2017). Also available as Amazon ebook (Free on Kindle Unlimited!)  and also on Kobo.