"Memoria spietata" by Vincenzo Cardarelli, English version; "Ruthless Memory", by Vincenzo Cardarelli, translated in English by LiteraryJoint

View of Auvers with Church,Vincent van Gogh, 1890  Auvers-sur-Oise, France, oil on canvas
Gallery: Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Presented below is "Memoria spietata" (Ruthless Memory), one of the most well known lyrics by Italian poet Vincenzo Cardarelli (pseudonym of Nazareno Caldarelli, May 1, 1887 - June 18, 1959).

Ruthless Memory

Oh, ruthless memory, what have you done
of my village?
A village of ghosts
where nothing has changed but the living beings
that usurp the place of the dead.
Here all stands still, enchanted,

in my remembrance.

Even the wind.
How many times, oh place of my birth,

within you I came to seek

what belongs to me most and I have lost.

That ancient wind, those ancient voices,

and the odors and the seasons

of a time, alas, already lived.

by Vincenzo Cardarelli, "Opere Complete,"  (Complete Works) 1962.
From "Vincenzo Cardarelli: The Forgotten amongst the Great. A Collection of the Best Poems by Vincenzo Cardarelli, Translated in English," available as e-book on Amazon Kindle, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, on NOOK Book, on Kobo, and as printed, traditional edition through Lulu.

Memoria spietata

O memoria spietata, che hai tu fatto

del mio paese?

Un paese di spettri

dove nulla è mutato fuor che i vivi

che usurpano il posto dei morti.

Qui tutto è fermo, incantato,

nel mio ricordo.

Anche il vento.

Quante volte, o paese mio nativo,

in te venni a cercare

ciò che più m'appartiene e ciò che ho perso.

Quel vento antico, quelle antiche voci,

e gli odori e le stagioni
d'un tempo, ahimè, vissuto.

Vincenzo Cardarelli, "Opere Complete," 1962