* The English version of the poem ”heirloom” first appeared in the publication of Between Dusk and Dawn (an anthology of visual art and writing, compiled and edited by Mihaela Cristescu and SE Crawford).
pérennité (French)
je bâtirai un château de sable
même s’il ne peut durer pour toujours
je le ferai avec détermination
et avec passion
je ne serai pas du tout triste
s’il s’effondre
ou s’il est emporté par les eaux
je le construirai de nouveau
posément, avec une force tranquille
sa brièveté, un rappel que
ce n’est que le sable
qui dure éternellement
et non les édifices que je construis.
heirloom
I’ll build a castle of sand
even if it can’t last forever
I’ll build it with purpose
and with passion
and I won’t be sad
if it crumbles
or is washed away
I’ll build again
with poise and quiet impact
its impermanence a reminder
that only the sand lasts forever
and not the structures that I build.
satellite (Italian)
senti
il richiamo dell’acqua
i sussurri degli alberi
e della fauna?
senti
la canzone che cantano
il canto della Terra
la ninna nanna della vita stessa?
senti anche tu
le grida di dolore
il dolore dell’incuria
e dell’abuso?
senti?
o è la tua stessa voce
così forte per l’ignoranza
che la risonanza
della Terra
cade nel vuoto?
satellite
do you hear
the calling of water
the whispers of trees
and of fauna?
do you hear
the song that they sing
the chant of the Earth
the lullaby of life itself?
do you hear also
the cries of pain
the sorrow of neglect
and of abuse?
do you hear?
or is your own voice
so loud with ignorance
that the resonance
of the earth
falls upon deaf ears?