Poem

Giampiero Neri

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BOREALIS

That red color of the sky
so unusually high
had been talked about as if of a dream
or a strange hint
of rare passersby.
Instead, it was a premonition.

© Translation: 2009, Ron Banerjee
From: Natural Theater. Selected Poems 1976–2009 by Giampiero Neri
Publisher: Chelsea Editions, New York, 2009

NOORDERLICHT

Van die rode gloed
in de ongewoon hoge hemel
werd gesproken als over een droom
of een vreemd visioen
van schaarse voorbijgangers,
maar hij bleek een waarschuwing te zijn.

BOREALE

Di quel colore rosso
del cielo insolitamente alto
si era discusso come di un sogno
o strana suggestione
di rari passanti,
era invece una premonizione.

Giampiero Neri

(Italy, 1927)

Giampiero Neri (the pseudonym of Giampietro Pontiggia) was born in Erba, in the province of Como, in 1927. He lives in Milan. His life has been marked by tragic events – the death of his father, who was killed when Giampiero was sixteen, the suicide of a sister in her twenties – which appear, however, only indirectly in his poetry. A bank employee, he has cultivated entomological and literary i...

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Poems of Giampiero Neri

BOREALIS

That red color of the sky
so unusually high
had been talked about as if of a dream
or a strange hint
of rare passersby.
Instead, it was a premonition.

© 2009, Ron Banerjee
From: Natural Theater. Selected Poems 1976–2009 by Giampiero Neri
Publisher: 2009, Chelsea Editions, New York

BOREALIS

That red color of the sky
so unusually high
had been talked about as if of a dream
or a strange hint
of rare passersby.
Instead, it was a premonition.

© 2009, Ron Banerjee
From: Natural Theater. Selected Poems 1976–2009 by Giampiero Neri
Publisher: 2009, Chelsea Editions, New York