Firenze Florence
L' anziana citta
tra luci e ombre
si specchia nello scorrere lento
del fiume.
Fiume amato e odiato,
che un giorno l'ha presa e
trasportata nel vortice.
L'acqua girava,
girava,
girava
sui dipinti antichi,
sulle croci ora risorte dal fango,
sulle righe dei libri,
con la forza che voleva strappare
parole al passato.
Esci dalla melma, Firenze!
E vivi con il passato ora lindo
nel tuo futuro luminoso.
(TRANSLATION):
The ancient city
between lights and shadows
reflected in the slow flow
of the river.
River loved and hated,
that one day picked up and
carried the city into the whirlpool.
The water spun,
spun,
spun
over ancient paintings,
over crosses now risen from the mud,
over the lines of books,
with a force that wanted to rip the
words away from the past.
Get out of the mire, Florence!
And live with the past, now cleansed,
in your bright future.
Poem by Lapo CecioniI (11 anni, age 11)
Classe 1D, Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado ‟Italo Calvino”
Translation by Edward Yannayon
This poem—one result of a Wick Poetry Center project with teachers in Florence, Italy—was written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the famous flood of the Arno River in 1966.
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Illustrator: Zuzana Kubišová ’17
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In partnership with the Wick Poetry Center, Kent State Magazine features a poem by one of our readers in each issue. To submit your poem, visit , click “Submit,” and label it “Magazine Entry.”