2018-07-19

【Life of my life, you seem to me】

Torquato Tasso (1544—1595)

                 Life of my life, you seem to me

                 Like some pallid olive tree

                 Or the faded rose I see:

                 Nor do you lack beauty,

                 But please in

2018-07-19

【Snowfall】

Giosuè Carducci (1835—1907)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1906〗

      Light snowfalls through an ashy sky.

      From the city, no sounds rise up, no human cries,

      not the grocer’s call or the ruckus of his cart,

      no light-hearted song of being young and in love.

      From the tower in the piazza, the quinsied hours

&nbs

2018-07-19

【Per una ghirlandetta】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

             Per una ghirlandetta

             ch’io vidi, mi farà

             sospirare ogni fiore.

       &

2018-07-19

【Dante】

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475—1564)

          WHAT should be said of him cannot be said;

          By too great splendor is his name attended;

          To blame is easier than those who him offended,

          Than reach the faintest glory round him shed.

          This man descended to the doomed and dead

2018-07-19

【Celestial Love】

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475—1564)

         NO mortal thing enthralled these longing eyes

         When perfect peace in thy fair face I found;

         But far within, where all is holy ground,

         My soul felt Love, her comrade of the skies:

         For she was born with God in Paradise;

         Nor all the shows of

2018-07-19

【Poem】

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475—1564)

          Ravished by all that to the eyes is fair,

          Yet hungry for the joys that truly bless,

          My soul can find no stair

          To mount to heaven, save earth's loveliness.

          For from the stars above

          Descends a glorious light

&nb

2018-07-19

【The Doom of Beauty】

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475—1564)

          Choice soul, in whom, as in a glass, we see,

          Mirrored in thy pure form and delicate,

          What beauties heaven and nature can create,

          The paragon of all their works to be!

          Fair soul, in whom love, pity, piety,

2018-07-19

【Autumn Song】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

          Know'st thou not at the fall of the leaf

          How the heart feels a languid grief

          Laid on it for a covering,

          And how sleep seems a goodly thing

          In Autumn

2018-07-19

【Aiden in English】

        The highlight of the trip, the pinnacle of the summer, is the only reason I wanted to come on this surprising cruise...The leaning tower of Pizza.

        Or Pisa, whatever. I call it Pizza because it's in Italy and looks cool. Simple thinking for the simple-minded. What's not simple-minded is the geometry of the tower. It is now a whopping four degrees off its center. Tha

2018-07-18

【voi che per la via d’Amor passate】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

                 O voi che per la via d’Amor passate,

                 Attendete e guardate

                 S’elli è dolore alcun, quanto ‘l mio, grave;

                 E prego sol ch’audir mi sofferiate,

            &

2018-07-18

【La Vita Nuova】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

                In that book which is

                My memory . . .

                On the first page

                That is t

2018-07-18

【Love and the Gentle Heart】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

          Love and the gentle heart are one thing,

          just as the poet says in his verse,

          each from the other one as well divorced

          as reason from the mind’s reasoning.

          Nature crav

2018-07-18

【Of Beauty and Duty】

Dante Alighieri (1265—1321)

         TWO ladies to the summit of my mind

         Have clomb, to hold an argument of love.

         The one has wisdom with her from above,

         For every noblest virtue well designed:

         The other, beauty's tempting to power refined

         And the high charm of perfect grace

2018-07-18

【That nightingale who weeps so sweetly】

Francesco Petrarca (1304—1374)

         That nightingale who weeps so sweetly,

         perhaps for his brood, or his dear companion,

         fills the sky and country round with sweetness

         with so many piteous, bright notes,

         and it seems all night he stays beside me,

         and remin

2018-07-18

【Now that the sky and the earth and the wind are silent】

Francesco Petrarca (1304—1374)

      Now that the sky and the earth and the wind are silent

     and the wild creatures and the birds are reined in sleep,

      Night leads its starry chariot in its round,

      and the sea without a wave lies in its bed,

      I look, think, burn, weep: and she who destroys me

2018-07-18

【The Flower from the Edge fo the Creavasse】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

      The flower which keeps repeating

      from the edge of the crevasse

      never forgets me

      has tints no lighter nor more clear

      than the space flung out between you and me.

       &nb

2018-07-18

【Aiden in English】

        Day two of the repeated sites. This stop was mainly to send tourists to Rome, a highlight of the cruise. However, after spending three extra days in Rome three years ago, I think it would be better to move on. While it is possibly my favorite city to revisit, there is still much to explore in Italy, such as the Etruscan Necropolises in Tarquinia and the medieval treasures of Tuscania.

2018-07-17

【Full of a wandering thought that separates me】

Francesco Petrarca (1304—1374)

     Full of a wandering thought that separates me

    from all other men, and makes me go lonely through the world,

     hour after hour I am tempted by myself

     searching for her, whom I should fly from:

     and I see her go by so sweet and deadly

     that my soul trembles to rise in flight,

     sh

2018-07-17

【The Broken Pane】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

           It all conspires against you. Nasty weather,

           lights that keep going out, and the old house

           jolted by every gust. It’s dear to you

           for what you suffered in it, for the hopes

           dashed there, and for a few good times as well.

2018-07-17

【Winter】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

            It’s night, a bitter winter. You raise

            the drapes a little and peer out. Your hair

            blows wildly; joy suddenly

            opens wide your black eyes,

     &nbs

2018-07-17

【To the Reader】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

            This book, Good Reader, though a balm to you,

            shames its creator and should go unread.

            Although he spoke as a living man, he was

            (or should have been, for decency’

2018-07-17

【Insomnia on a Summer Night】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

          I've positioned myself to relax

          under the stars,

          one of those nights

          sick with insomnia,

          a religious pleasure.

    &n

2018-07-17

【Epitaph】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

      When I am alive I speak to the dead majority.

     After death, I refused to be courteous and asked to forget.

—— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • ——

【《墓志铭》】

阳光斗士•萨巴(1883生—1957卒)

            活着时我向死亡的多数说话。

           &nbs

2018-07-17

【One Night】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

            If only sleep would come, as it has come

            on other nights: already slipping through

            my thoughts.

2018-07-17

【Happiness】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

         The youth, eager to obligations

       spontaneously offered their shoulders the burden.

         Not resistant. Cries of melancholy.

         Vagrancy, evasion, poetry,

         Expensive wonders when it's late! late

2018-07-17

【Once we were happy】

Torquato Tasso (1544—1595)

          Once we were happy, I

          Loving and beloved,

          You loved and loving, sweetly moved.

          Then you became the enemy

          Of love, and I to disdain

          Found youthful passion change.

          Disdai

2018-07-17

【Rivers】

Giuseppe Ungaretti (1912—1970)

              This mutilated tree gives

              me support, left in this pot-hole

              It has the bitterness of a circus

              Before or after the show.

              I watch

              The

2018-07-17

【Wanderer】

Giuseppe Ungaretti (1912—1970)

                Nowhere

                On earth

                Can I make

                Myself

     &nb

2018-07-17

【Aiden in English】

        Welcome to the first of two stops I've already been to. Today's hot spot was Naples, a beautiful city with a lot of history, but one I happened to be too. So, we decided to go to Sorrento... another place we've also stopped by. That's alright since the main attraction would be the Amalfi coastal drive in the afternoon. 

        Sorrento and Naples, are two ico

2018-07-16

【San Martino del Carso】

Giuseppe Ungaretti (1912—1970)

                Of these houses

                there remain

                only a few

                pieces of wall

2018-07-16

【Aiden in English】

                Water further than the eyes can see,

                Traveling out in an endless direction.

                A flicker, some movement, perhaps it’s land.

          &nbs

2018-07-12

【Aiden in English】

          Splash! Not water,

          Bottom of the net.

          Whoosh! Not wind,

          Ball through the air.

          Time and time again, the court calls,

          I can't resist.

&nbs

2018-07-11

【Aiden in English】

        On the last day in Venice, I'm ready to set sail. Drunk on pizza, tired of pasta, sick of gelato, I think I've experienced the Italian lifestyle a little too much. I've had, for every lunch and dinner the past three days, pizza or pasta. That's incredibly unhealthy. I thoroughly enjoyed breakfast though. It is the only time I had any sort of vegetable.

        So the transition to a 12-day crui

2018-07-10

【English Horn】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

          The wind this evening attentively plays

          bringing to mind the ringing metallic

          slip of a blade-

          the instrument of thick trees and open

          copper horizon

          where the lath of light ya

2018-07-10

【Again and Again, I Have Seen Life's Evil】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

         Again and again, I have seen life's evil:

         it was the strangled brook, still gurgling,

         it was the curling of the shriveled leaf,

         it was the fallen horse.

 &nb

2018-07-10

【Happiness】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

         Happiness is achieved, walking

         for you on a blade’s hedge.

         To our eyes, you are a glimmer that flickers,

         afoot, stretched ice that cracks;

       and therefore shall not touch you who loves you most.

         If you reach

2018-07-10

【Aiden in English】

        “In fair Verona, where we lay our scene."

        That's one of the few lines I remember from Romeo and Juliet. And so, in honor of the “greatest literary playwright” in history, today's adventure brought us to Verona. 

        To be completely honest, I don't think Verona would receive nearly as many tourists without Shakespeare&

2018-07-09

【I Recall Your Smile】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

   I recall your smile, and for me, it is limpid water

   witnessed by chance among the stones of a riverbed.

   slight mirror in which you see an ivy and its inflorescence,

   and overall the embrace of a serene white sky.

   This is my recollection; I cannot

2018-07-09

【Any Hope of Ever Seeing You Again】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

         Any hope of ever seeing you again

         was slipping away;

         and I wondered  if that which cut off for me

         all sense of you, that screen of images,

         contain

2018-07-09

【In the Smoke】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

         How many times have I waited for you 

         at the station in the cold, in the fog. 

         I walked gnawing, buying 

         unmentionable newspapers, 

         smoking Juba then suppressed 

         by the Minister of

2018-07-09

【Don’t, Scissors, Cut That Face】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

         Don't, scissors, cut that face,

         alone as memory disperses,

         don’t make of that clear, listening glance

         miasmas of forever.

2018-07-09

【The hope of even seeing you again abandons me】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

        The hope of even seeing you again abandons me:

           and I ask myself if that which closes off

           every sens

2018-07-09

【Aiden in English】

        After one harsh day of running on fumes, we rested up and didn't fall asleep instantly when hopping on the water bus. It took me two minutes.

        Today's adventure would take us to a basilica, then a basilica. The difference being one was a courthouse, or what a basilica meant in ancient Roman architecture hundred years ago. So a courthouse came first. To be honest, it

2018-07-08

【The Lemon Trees】

Eugenio Montale (1896—1981)

〖Nobel Prize in Literature in 1975〗

         Hear me a moment. Laureate poets

         seem to wander among plants

         no one knows: boxwood, acanthus,

         where nothing is alive to touch.

         I prefer small

2018-07-08

【Aiden in English】

        And we're off. Off for the glorious land of Europe, where dreams of castles and kings, myth and legend, culture, and overpriced water come true. It's ironic that the first city of interest was Venice, a place where water is an abundant resource. I've seen movies, shows, and books that so much more focus on the unique aspects of Venice and its crazy waterways, the rising water, and the boats. Especially boat

2015-07-05

【Love】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

I say goodbye when I approach you, Love,

as this age and this gray would have me do.

There was the shadow of the earth and sun

and, oh, the heart of a heartless boy in you.

—— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • —— • ——

【《爱情》】

阳光斗士•萨巴(1883生—1957卒)

对你，爱情，我开始就已放弃

就像我的老年一定会让我如此。

哦，你有大地，和太阳的黑暗，

有一个没有心灵的孩子的心灵。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2015: Farewell to

2015-07-05

【Ulysses】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

          In my youth, I sailed

          the Dalmatian coast. Tiny islands

          rose from the surface of the waves, covered

        with algae, slippery, beautiful as emeralds in the sun,

          where an occasional bird paused searching for prey.

          When

2015-07-05

【Aiden in English】

        The theme of the trip to adventure the World Heritage in Southern Europe is sort of how time moves on, and the future comes faster it seems. Following the theme, time did move on, and I had to leave. Fortunately, this ending came with many memories. 

        The Greek Isles offered a type of tropicality unlike any other. The balance of relaxation in the sun and the lush history of Gree

2015-07-04

【Old City】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

            Often, to return to my home

            I take a dark street in the old city.

            Yellow is reflected in some puddle

            a few lights and the street is crowded.

2015-07-04

【The Goat】

Umberto Saba (1883—1957)

        I talked to a goat.

        She was alone on the lawn, she was tied up.

        Full of grass, wet

        from the rain, it blazed.

        That same bleat was brotherly

     &n