BIBLIOTHECA UNIVERSALIS: DONALD ADAMSON (FINLAND-SCOTLAND)

Swing and Sway

Winter was long, then spring,

was barged aside as summer came

galumphing down the path. My love,

let’s welcome it

and will you put on that flowery dress,

the faded one you’ll say no longer fits,

and let it swing and sway in the warm air

as we walk? No need to hug (for that

was for the cold) nor to walk hand in hand,

but finger to finger, one crooked round

another. A staid couple,

we’ll amble in the sun to where the ice

makes tinkling sounds as it melts.

And look –

the bay is grinning at us,

winking lasciviously,

showing its jagged teeth like an old man

that once you wouldn’t have trusted

to come within a wave’s width of the shore!

Cullando l'onda

Lungo fu l'inverno, poi fu la primavera,

che si ritrasse appena l'estate giunse

scalpitando lungo il sentiero. Amor mio,

diamogli il benvenuto, e poi:

l'indosserai quel vestito a fiori,

quello un po' stinto che dicevi

che avresti smesso, e lo lascerai

ondeggiare e cullare nell'aria dolce

mentre andremo a spasso?

Non ci abbracceremo (quello era

quando c'era il gelo) né cammineremo

mano nella mano ma

agganceremo un dito una all'altro.

Coppia quieta e sobria, al modo antico.

Vagabonderemo nel sole fino a dove

i ghiacci nel fondersi tintinneranno.

E, guarda ora -

la baia ci sorride sghemba,

e ammicca senza pudore,

scoprendo i denti scossi, come un vecchio

che un tempo non avresti mai creduto arrivare

a meno d'una lunghezza d'onda dalla riva.

(from the English-Italian version of the book  

'Histories and Happenings. Storie e avvenimenti', Col. “Bibliotheca Universalis”)

About the Author

  Donald Adamson is a widely-published Scottish poet and translator, currently living in Finland. He co-founded the arts magazine Markings, and has been a prize winner in several poetry competitions. His poem ‘False Prophets’, which in 1999 on the Herald Millennium Poetry Competition, is buried in a time capsule under the walls of the Scottish Poetry Library. He is currently translating the poems of the Finnish Nobel-prize candidate Eeva Kilpi.

  Donald Adamson has been a honorary contributor of 'Contemporary Literary Horizon' since 2012.

About the Translator

  Marianna Piani (born 1973, Trieste) is an Italian artist, poet and translator. Her poetic creation is impressive in content and sizes, but until now, for personal reasons, she has any published book. Marianna Piani has been a honorary contributor of 'Contemporary Literary Horizon' since 2014.

Daniel Dragomirescu

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