«Wer noch kein / Melancholiker ist, / Muß es hier werden»
Alle prime ombre su Arcetri, a passi
Assorti scendevi dall'osservatorio
Sul viale Galileo e da lì al Forte Belvedere e
Quindi in centro, illuminato dalle luci di seta
Del tramonto.
Quanta ragione nei versi di Czechowski,
Il poeta della morte dal cielo di Dresda.
Ed è il tepore intimo della nostalgia che
Strugge il cuore alla vista intorno.
Che si lasci alfine la rabbia e il dolore,
Perché una sola è la via da percorrere:
La propria —In solitario. Con la
Malinconia che ciascuno alla meta
Accompagna.
(Firenze,2013)
Copyright © Fabrizio Frosini - All rights reserved
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«Wer noch kein/ Melancholiker ist, / Muß es hier werden» Heinz Czechowski, 'Selbstbildnis, Florenz' [1993-96] — {«Who is not melancholic / here he becomes such.», 'Self-portrait, Florence'}.
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Florence merveilleux! ville romantique; beau poème. Bravo! :) Mihaela Pirjol is right in her comment: BELLA ARTE! :)
Florence, A Walk With A View, by Frosini, is an exercise in perspective, borne out in one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the world. Florence is the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region and was once the birthplace of the Renaissance. Beauty, nature, scenery, amazing architecture, art, and culture abound in this magical place. If this poem were written by anyone else, I would assume I was about to go on a one-dimensional poetic journey of beauty. However, with Frosini, I am usually prepared for a layer of darkness and philosophy and a requirement to use my brain…to think! . This poem is no different as it opens with verse written in German by the poet, Czechowski, who experienced the destruction of Dresden, or “Florence on the Elbe, as a young child of 10. He wrote many poems about his experience of the bombing and destruction of Dresden during WWII; most focusing on the idea that once things are broken they cannot be put back together again, among other melancholic themes. So back to stanza one, we are now seeing a bird’s eye view of Florence, from atop a hill, close to an observatory (capable of viewing an entire solar system) , right at the birthplace of Galileo. The lines /’At the first shadows…step by step-absorbed/ In thoughts-you descended/…places YOU the reader atop the hill, feeling melancholy, as the sun is setting (‘/lit up by the silky lights of the/Sunset.’/) , darkness is descending on a beautiful city, yet YOU are thinking about the destruction of Dresden as you view Florence fading into darkness. As you walk down into the city center in the second stanza, Frosini, returns to the words of the German Poet, “«Who is not melancholic / here he becomes such.», 'Self-portrait, Florence'. Here I imagine that German Poet looking out on the dazzling view of Florence, and instead seeing Dresden, or the Dresden that once was and could have been, but will NEVER be. This is very sad indeed. Personally, I have taken this walk (though not at sunset) , and it is not for the faint of heart. It is a walk! There is plentry of time to labor and think; and for the sun to set and darkness to descend. The final line of the stanza /’Your heart melt at the sight around’/ refers to the stunning beauty paired with the melancholic lens Frosini puts over the reader’s eyes. There is such potential in mankind, yet we seem to have this self-destructive and violent potential as well, that repeats over and over again in our history of war and destruction. The final stanza puzzles me. We revert from a quiet, thoughtful, melancholic, walk, to a revelatory one, When the speaker declares in the first line, ‘/Behold! Leave behind any anger and pain, /…Now it is as if, the speaker is having a conversation with both the reader as well as Czechowski…He is sharing this philosophic truth, that ‘/Because there is but one path to follow: / Our own -In loneliness. With the melancholy/That accompanies all of us to our final/Destination. And then darkness descends on everything. The sun has set. I suppose this means that despite all the destruction of Dresden, despite the beauty of Florence, the positives and negatives of mankind, we still all die alone. Maybe in acceptance of such a melancholic truth, one can find peace with our Earth and the state of mankind. I felt very close to this poem, I found myself on this walk, as I remembered my time in Florence and my own melancholic state of mind when I was there. This is a special poem. You have a way with incorporating layers of meaning through such a small space in your words, your parsed language and your light and dark imagery. Thanks for writing and for sharing such a beautiful poem. Grazie Mille Fabrizio! (Report)
once again, you delved into the ‘spirit’ of a poem that means a lot to me, catching not only the text references but also those feelings that accompanied me that late afternoon, walking down from the top of the hill of Arcetri.. Having seen those places through your own eyes, walking there yourself, helped you to get into the spirit of my poem, but it’s your analytical skill, mediated by a keen intelligence and fine sensitivity (qualities that allow you to delve deep into my verses) , to make you such an excellent Literary Critic. From this point of view, being a Critic and a fine Poet yourself, you have done justice to Czechowski and me.. Thank you!
Here is the opening lines of a poem I've read today: it is 'DANTE', by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: ''Tuscan, that wanderest through the realms of gloom, With thoughtful pace, and sad, majestic eyes, '' - my ITALIAN translation of them: ''O Toscano, che vaghi per i regni della malinconia, (*) Con passo pensoso, e tristi e maestosi occhi, '' - - - (*) I've preferred translating 'malinconia' and not 'oscurità', because 'Divina Commedia' is not only 'INFERNO', but also 'PURGATORIO' and 'PARADISO' - - -
la tua poesia Firenze, Passeggiata Con Vista in inglese è resa molto bene ma in italiano è certamente migliore
in effetti l'ho scritta in italiano ed è quindi in questa lingua che esprime meglio la propria musicalità. Solo dopo l'ho tradotta in inglese. Comunque, Grazie :)
Beautiful poem, both the Italian (with the German mixed in) and the English.
Hi Sneg, Why Czechowski? Because Heinz Czechowski wrote a poem titled 'Selbstbildnis, Florenz' ['Self-portrait, Florence'], from where the lines: «Wer noch kein / Melancholiker ist, / Muß es hier werden» ['Who is not melancholic / here he becomes such.']. 1. My line: *Quanta ragione nei versi di Czechowski* (= How right [are] those verses from Czechowski's [poem]) refers to MELANCHOLIKER, / MUß ES HIER WERDEN. 2. My line: *Il poeta della morte dal cielo di Dresda.* (= The poet of the death from [the sky] above Dresden) refers to the fact that during World War II, when yet a child, he survived the allied bombing of his city, Dresden (february/april 1945) , that killed more than 20,000 people, mostly civilians, and destroyed the entire city center. Before its destruction, Dresden was know as Florence on the Elbe (Elbflorenz) . Ciao
Questa poesia, e come un sogno...grazie per questa bella arte!