Member Poem

This one by Giorgio Vigolo, “Knowledge Tree,” is hard to find and, in fact, in my superficial Google search, I could only find one Italian-only version, no dual language versions. However, it is a good poem and deserves some broader recognition.

Knowledge Tree

The heart is cluttered with bitter wreckage,

Weighing the breast like bills unpaid

And anchors to the stunning earth

The thoughts that leap in wind

With thirsty summits eager for air.

The passion roots me to the ground,

Balancing the mourning, and soaring

Like a plane with wings breathing the foliage.

But its balance for me is the secret

Knowledge tree; and, if the light

Drinks the air, a deeper filter

Draws from the earth and nourishes death.

albero conoscente

il cuore ingombro di relitti amari

pesa nel petto come grave mora

e ànchora alla terra i favolosi

pensieri che s’immergono nel vento

con assetate cime avide d’aria.

Le passioni mi radicano al suolo,

contrappeso di lutto, esse, all’aereo

sorger d’alate respiranti foglie.

Ma così s’equilibra in me l’arcano

albero conoscente; e, se la luce

beve dall’aria, un più profondo filtro

trae dalla terra e lo nutrisce morte.