Galaxies
because this planet's radiance overcame me
—Dante, Paradiso, IX, 33
Translation from Historiae by Antonella Anedda
I dreamt that I saw the earth from far away,
I saw fields, the moon, the undertow
and how each tide undermines earth with water.
I wanted to reach Saturn, my planet
of fire and lead, so I was nourishing melancholy.
I was spinning in the fog looking for you and you were below
among the living. You loved who I was not and would never be
yet there in the void, in that sidereal light I saw
the autumn spinning the leaves with verdigris,
I was hearing the thud of the wind upon a bedsheet
as one voice was calling another
and this one responded as something in the evening
that was approaching with the shadow that fell on the chairs.
Already there in glory, already overcome by the radiance between planets,
and yet I was starving myself with envy for life.
From Historiae by Antonella Anedda. First published in English by New York Review Books. Translation Copyright © 2023 by Susan Stewart and Patrizio Ceccagnoli.
Susan Stewart
Susan Stewart was born in 1952. She is the author of several poetry collections, including Cinder: New and Selected Poems (Graywolf Press, 2017).
Patrizio Ceccagnoli
Patrizio Ceccagnoli is a literary critic and translator. He received his BA in classics in Perugia, Italy, and a PhD in Italian studies from Columbia University.