DISTANCES
By Irma Kurti
Who knows where my steps will
take me on a rainy day? Behind
the trees, thunderstorms hide.
I walk like a drunk, and my
silhouette is reflected in a pool
of water; it floats like a yellow
leaf beside the other tired leaves.
The rain doesn’t reach me, and
the humidity doesn’t touch me;
the dark sky tries to illuminate
my thoughts, sending me a flash
of lightning now and then.
It’s not the fog of this landscape
that saddens my soul; it is only
that silent sorrow that awakens
me under a melancholy sky.
I stay here, unable to overcome
the distance between us, under
the power of a crazy play of
colors that change so often –
like my steps, which take me
everywhere, but never to you,
to your intricate road.
IRMA KURTI is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator. She is a naturalized Italian and lives in Bergamo, Italy. In 2020, she became the honorary president of WikiPoesia, the encyclopedia of poetry. She also won the prestigious 2023 Naji Naaman's literary prize for complete work. Irma Kurti is a member of the jury for several literary competitions in Italy and also a translator for the Ithaca Foundation in Spain. Irma Kurti has published more than 100 works, including books of poetry, fiction and translations. Her books have been translated and published in 19 countries.
