(Cont.d)a green smile dimming in the water,
but nothing else. Maybe
now and then she loses
an echo that has filled the measure;
but has she ever really lived
if they still talk about her as a ghost
if not even the Archbishop could
baptize and confirm her? I say
that maybe death is just the gap
that rains sorrow and misery on your bones
and as old age gets near
becomes more visible and firm.
(Translated by Luigi Bonaffini)