war

Bertolt Brecht – Breviario Tedesco / A German War Primer

Tom Lea, The 2000 Yard Stare, 1944 When the leaders speak of Peacethe common folk knowthat war is coming.When the leaders curse warthe mobilisation order is already written out.Those at the top say: peace and warare of different substance.War grows out of their peacelike a son out of a motherhe bearsher terrible features.Their war killswhatever …

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Sandro Penna – O solitario intorno a una fontana / Lonely, you stand near the fountain

Maria Fortuny, Il contino, 1861 Lonely, you stand near the fountain, your face reflected in the water. The raw poetry of the military decoration burns in your heart with a fire greater than Botticelli’s Venus. (Transl. by Peter Valente) O solitario intorno a una fontana. Il poetico nudo della leva militare nel tuo cuore ardeva …

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Anna Akhmatova – Dedica / Dedication

Ivan Fedorovich Choultsé (1874-1939), March night, Russia Mountains fall before this grief, A mighty river stops its flow, But prison doors stay firmly bolted Shutting off the convict burrows And an anguish close to death. Fresh winds softly blow for someone, Gentle sunsets warm them through; we don’t know this, We are everywhere the same, …

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Juan Ramón Jiménez – Epitaffio ideale di un eroe / Ideal Epitaph to a Hero

William Orpen, To the Unknown British Soldier in France, 1927 He reached his death. But his living was so intense, that though he lies here rotting destiny watches, still, over him. Raggiunse la morte. Ma fu così viva la sua vita, che sebbene giaccia qui putrefatto, il destino lo sta vegliando, quieto. Go back to …

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