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A Sharp Silence: poem to my Muse

Un sasso tondo, levigato,
colto e scagliato con un gesto dโ€™ira
che mi avrebbe colpito in piena fronte,
non questo silenzio acuminato
dritto nel cuore senza sparger sangue.
~Marcello Comitini

Roughly, (and very ineptly) translated–

A round stone, polished,
picked and hurled in a gesture of ire
which would’ve hit me square on the brow,
not this sharp silence
straight to the heart without shedding blood.

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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11 Comments

  • Lovely. Been a while since I last visited. What better thing to read than a short-sweet poem? ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Angela Brown says:

    There's something haunting about the silence mentioned in this point…that sort of thing that usually relished yet, in this moment, is a painful thing.

    Beautiful. Thank you for translating this.

  • Lynn Proctor says:

    this is so lovely ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Damyanti says:

    Thanks, Rosalind, do you speak Italian?

    Mina– well, when it is your Muse, you'd rather not have silence at any cost ๐Ÿ™‚

    Thanks Miranda. I'll def be using that Weed sentence.

    Al, thanks. Yes, it is Italian, which I speak, but am still learning.

    Misha, thanks. Yep, the meaning came across, but the Italian is infinitely more beautiful when read.

    Tonja, I'd rather not have silence from my Muse, or from anyone I love.

    Stephen, it is the wounds that don't bleed that hurt the most, especially wounds in the heart.

  • Well, I guess if no blood is shed, then its okay. I think.

  • Tonja says:

    Interesting. I think I'd rather have the silence.

  • Very beautiful. I think you translated it very well, since I could understand what the poem was trying to say. ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Al Penwasser says:

    I don't think it was ineptly translated. This was a beautiful poem. Although I bet the Italian (it was Italian, wasn't it?) was very good as well.

  • Very beautiful and profound.

    You can certainly use my weed sentence. Lol it's all yours.

  • Mina Lobo says:

    Yes. I totally get this. There've definitely been times I'd have preferred a physical pain to the emotional.
    Some Dark Romantic

  • That's beautiful (and very nicely translated too ๐Ÿ™‚