You’re happy when, for you,
we teeter on a knife-edge.
You’re a gleam that flickers in the eyes,
stretched ice that’s cracking underfoot;
and so, untouchable for him who loves you most.
If you meet souls beset by sadness
and you bring them light, your morning’s sweet.
It’s all astir, like nests on gable tops.
But nothing stills the weeping of the child
whose toy balloon has fled between the houses.
Felicità raggiunta, si cammina
per te su fil di lama.
Agli occhi sei barlume che vacilla,
al piede, teso ghiaccio che s’incrina;
e dunque non ti tocchi chi più t’ama.
Se giungi sulle anime invase
di tristezza e le schiari, il tuo mattino
è dolce e turbatore come i nidi delle cimase.
Ma nulla paga il pianto del bambino
a cui fugge il pallone tra le case.
Chalkface Press is pleased to announce the publication of
by John Richmond
Each book costs £10, plus £2 postage and packing throughout the world.
Email chalkface@icloud.com or john@myproperlife.com. An invoice will be enclosed with the book(s).
This work is licensed under a Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share Alike CC BY-NC-SA Creative Commons license. If you use this work, please credit “John Richmond” and link to the original work on myproperlife.com.
For information on commercial use, please contact the author
If you have enjoyed this site, please consider donating to Sightsavers