Boris Ryzhy – Non ho camminato nei tuoi sogni / I didn’t walk in your dreams

John William Waterhouse, Apollo And Daphne, 1908

I didn’t walk in your dreams,
I didn’t appear among the crowd,
I didn’t show myself in the yard
where it was raining, or rather it was about to rain
(I’ll delete this verse and won’t replace it),
it was tempting to believe – like a fool –
I would’ve met you soon,
you were the one slipping in my dreams,
combing my hair on my head
(a sweet tenderness delighted me).
That autumn even my poems
seemed to be good
(yet a verse or a rhyme, to be happy, as always missed).

(Transl. by D. Foglia)

Non ho camminato nei tuoi sogni,
né mi sono mostrato in mezzo alla folla,
non sono apparso nel cortile
dove pioveva o meglio cominciava a piovere
(questo verso lo cancello e non lo sostituirò),
era allettante credere, come uno stupido,
che ti avrei incontrato presto,
eri tu che mi apparivi in sogno
(e mi prendeva una dolce tenerezza),
mi sistemavi i capelli sulle tempie.
Quell’autunno perfino le poesie
in parte mi riuscivano bene
(però mancava sempre un verso o una rima
per essere felice).

This is a personal translation. Please contact me if you know another English translation.