Franca Mancinelli

Tutti gli occhi che ho aperto / All the Eyes that I have Opened

from here ways parted
breathing I was growing

amid the falling, something sweet
a hollow of time


all the eyes that I have opened
are the branches that I have lost.


da qui partivano vie
respirando crescevo

nel crollo, qualcosa di dolce
un incavo del tempo


tutti gli occhi che ho aperto
sono i rami che ho perso.


*

I’m running. And standing at the crossroads
where it slows down, falls

is transformed by a law of joy.
I don’t believe in partition walls.
I close my eyes, and go through the image.


corro. E sto fermo all’incrocio
dove rallenta, precipita

per una legge di gioia si trasforma.
Non credo ai muri divisori.
Chiudo gli occhi, e attraverso l’immagine.


*

in closed eyes a wellspring
of pupils—gleams
gone by between globes
guardians of a single image
gravitating in the exploded dust.


negli occhi chiusi una sorgente
di pupille –luminescenze
trascorse tra globi
custodi di un’unica immagine
gravitante nella polvere esplosa.


*


the infinite dead
expand into another galaxy.
The red within the dark keeps
flowing into the sea
where we crouch bodiless.


l’infinito dei morti
espande un’altra galassia.
Il rosso nel buio continua
a sfociare nel mare
dove siamo senza corpo accucciati.


Franca Mancinelli, from Tutti gli occhi che ho aperto / All the Eyes that I have Opened (Marcos y Marcos 2020), translated into English by John Taylor
English translation published in the reviews Osiris and Azonal

Tutti gli occhi che ho aperto / All the Eyes that I have Opened
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About Franca Mancinelli

Franca Mancinelli (1981, Fano) is the author of four books of poetry, which have won several prizes in Italy and made her one of the most compelling voices in contemporary Italian Poetry. In John’s Taylor’s English translations have appeared in the United States at The Bitter Oleander Press, "At an Hour’s Sleep from Here: Poems" (2007-2019) and "The Little Book of Passage" -translation of her book of prose poems "Libretto di transito" (2018). Her most recent book is "Tutti gli occhi che ho aperto" [All the Eyes that I have Opened], Marcos y Marcos in 2020. She has participated in international projects such as the "Chair Poet in Residence" (Kolkata, India, 2019) and "Refest: Images and Words on Refugee Routes". From this latter experience was born her "Taccuino croato" [Croatian Notebook], now published in "Come tradurre la neve" [How to Translate the Snow, 2019]. Her work has been translated into several languages and has appeared in various anthologies.