This Translation Tuesday offers a brief and invaluable glimpse into the poetry of revered Italian writer, Cesare Pavese (1908-1950). Unearthed from the original by Sonya Gray Redi, “Every Night, Returning from Life,” is a vignette from 1928 that lays bare the tortured human condition. Like the cigarette that self-immolates, the being grows warped, and authenticity remains unattainable. As the days and nights pass in perpetuity, time is the revolving axe chipping at the soul.
Every Night, Returning From Life
Every night, returning from life,
before this table
I grab a cigarette
and solitarily smoke my soul.
I feel it spasm between my fingers
and burn itself out.
With effort, it rises before my eyes
in a spectral smoke
and envelops me,
little by little, with a tired fever.
Life’s sounds and colors
no longer reach it:
all on its own, it’s tormented inside
by a sad satiety
for colors and sounds.
In the room, the light is violent
but full of gloaming.