Poetry Magazine
From Our Correspondent in: Theatre Square, Dresden
Don't let's hang about
on the cobblestones.
The equestrian statue—keep
going—represents the king.
Yes, the Dante translator.
Now let's move on.
Lovely theatre, first rate, but
no point in dawdling
because this paving is contaminated
(a nuclear accident
near the quarry) and here we are
already like ghosts on this X-ray plate, like ghouls,
radiological tourists, little glass vessels
blown with a breeze of electrons.
Source: Poetry (December 2007).
Biography
Valerio Magrelli is a professor of French literature at the University of Cassino and a frequent contributor to the cultural pages of several Italian dailies. He is the author of four prize-winning poetry collections, and his poems have been translated into English, French, Spanish,and a number of other languages.
Poem Categorization
SUBJECT Activities, Travels & Journeys, Social Commentaries, History & Politics
POET’S REGION Italy
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