Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Umberto Fiori

FACE

Simply not to lose face
in the face of all of you,
how many things I have given up.

Don’t distress yourselves about me; to go without
comes naturally to me now, it costs me
almost nothing anymore.
I have let them go for so long,
and so profoundly,
that if you asked me about it I couldn’t say
exactly what they were
and if I really wanted them. Their place
inside my head is empty.
Even the sense of missing them
has left no trace.

Only the face remains.

Look at it: it’s yours.

GEZICHT

Puur om niet mijn gezicht te verliezen
in jullie ogen
heb ik veel dingen opgegeven.

Wees niet bezorgd om mij: inmiddels kan ik
er heel goed zonder, en het kost mij bijna
geen moeite meer.
Ik heb die dingen uit mijn hoofd gezet,
op zo drastische wijze
dat ik als jullie mij dat vroegen niet
kon zeggen wat ze waren
en of ik ze wel echt gewild heb. In mijn hoofd
is hun plaats leeg gebleven.
En zelfs van mijn verlangens
rest geen spoor meer.

Ik heb alleen mijn gezicht nog.

Dat schenk ik jullie.

FACCIA

Pur di non perdere la faccia
di fronte a voi,
a quante cose ho rinunciato.

Non vi angustiate per me: stare senza ormai
mi viene naturale, non mi costa
quasi più niente.
Da tanto tempo le ho lasciate andare,
e tanto profondamente,
che se me lo chiedeste non saprei
dire bene cos’erano
e se davvero le volevo. In testa
è vuoto, il loro posto.
Neppure dei desideri
c’è più una traccia.

Solo la faccia mi resta.

Eccola: è vostra.
Close

FACE

Simply not to lose face
in the face of all of you,
how many things I have given up.

Don’t distress yourselves about me; to go without
comes naturally to me now, it costs me
almost nothing anymore.
I have let them go for so long,
and so profoundly,
that if you asked me about it I couldn’t say
exactly what they were
and if I really wanted them. Their place
inside my head is empty.
Even the sense of missing them
has left no trace.

Only the face remains.

Look at it: it’s yours.

FACE

Simply not to lose face
in the face of all of you,
how many things I have given up.

Don’t distress yourselves about me; to go without
comes naturally to me now, it costs me
almost nothing anymore.
I have let them go for so long,
and so profoundly,
that if you asked me about it I couldn’t say
exactly what they were
and if I really wanted them. Their place
inside my head is empty.
Even the sense of missing them
has left no trace.

Only the face remains.

Look at it: it’s yours.
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Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
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