After John Donne
Thy firmnes draws my circle just
And makes me end, where I begunne.
History turns and these points also turn
one to the other measuring the distance
of the pearl fixing the mute chant
of constancy.
And if, behind the shapes so drawn,
squares, meadows and rivers chase each other
in the evening, in the dewy morning
or when the lights come on;
and if the world, the moons and the comets
follow point to point the round circle
and seek each other slowly, eternally
in the cold mirror,
at my beginning my end fixes
your firmness, inside the exact circle.
*Author Arnaldo Ederle, poet, critic and translator, was born and lives in Verona. More than ten books of poetry have won major prizes in Italy, as well as selected essays and translations including Lorca and John Clare into Italian.
*Translator Peter Eustace born in Birmingham, studied in Oxford and settled in Verona, Italy, working as a translator. Has three books of poems (two in bilingual editions)and contributes to many UK magazines.
