Leonardo Sinisgalli
Old Grief
Grief comes easily to old people.
At midday
sitting in a corner of an empty house
they burst into tears.
Infinite despair
catches them by surprise.
They lift a withered slice of pear
to their lips, or the pulp of a fig
baked on the roof tiles.
Even a sip of water
or a visit by a snail
helps to ease a crisis.
Italian; trans. W.S. DiPiero
Leonardo Sinisgalli, Italian, trans. W.S.
DiPiero.