Happy Summer!

The summer solstice, or midsummer, is the longest day of the year and marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere. In celebration of this wondrous cycle, we’re sharing a poem by Vittorio Clemente from Dialect Poetry of Southern Italy: Texts and Criticism (A Trilingual Anthology) edited by Luigi Bonaffini, Legas, 1997, p.38. The accompanying photo of The Royal Palace of Apollo by Girolamo Starace Franchis (Napoli c.1730-Napoli 1794) comes courtesy of Andrew Giordano. It's from the elliptical double vault overhanging the Grand Staircase at the Royal Palace of Caserta, Campania.

Bliss

Golden days of summer, facing the sun,

facing the sea, delighted, and content.

Days spent eavesdropping on the wind,

mindful of words whispered in secret.

Words I'd unravel; listening, alone,

for the voice of the world, the nothing beyond,

alone, while my nimble heart took flight

for untold trysts and destinations.

Perhaps for the very edge of the world,

where Our Lady of the Mariners

trims white roses in the morning.

And to find myself here, again, eyes

like a boy's, quick and bright, seeing, upon

the lace of waves, roses ride to shore...

(Translated by Anthony Molino)