From Mars cruel god of war Poem by Franco Buffoni

From Mars cruel god of war
The desire to tie the corpse to the chariot
And drag it around each morning,
From Mercury the idea to put a stop to that
And buy the body back.
Because everything sooner or later becomes a musical
Or a collectible card or figurine
Hitler or the Fierce Saladin
Dracula the Impaler
All stripped of any awareness of suffering:
There is no voice in stones
No word that turns to flesh or blood.
(At that auction held at Bolaffi,
Those intriguing heart-shaped or 'C' postmarks
Stamped after their arrival in Florence
On two letters sent from the field to the family
Of a student volunteer at Curtatone.)

TRANSLATED BY GEOFFREY BROCK