ETERNO FINCHé DURA An Italian Poem

My poem turned short animation – Eternal While It Lasts – is touring the world.

As a result, some international film festivals are asking us to be provided with country-specific translations.

This week our piece will be at the ITFF – International Tour Film Festival – in Civitavecchia, Italy, where we’ll present Eterno Finché Dura, split into subtitles alongside the English version.

I worked hard to make this Italian version as faithful to the original and as poignant in its own right as I possibly could.

It was a challenging, stimulating and super creative task, which pushed me to go beyond qualities and limitations of the writing craft as well as of my linguistic skills, in order to create something unique, trying to balance up and distant myself from the author (I know, right?). What came out is not a “mere” translation, but a new version of Eternal While It Lasts. That is, Eterno Finché Dura, an Italian poem.

I won’t go into the details of how I proceeded and what my aims and specific choices were, as that would require at least another article. But I’ll be happy to answer your questions, if you have any.

***

Dan(Demi) Wu ’s and my short animation is still travelling through festivals, so I can’t show it to you yet, but if you’re curious and want to read the two different versions, I’m pasting them below.

Thoughts?

ETERNAL WHILE IT LASTS

I want to shave half your head

and plait the top part, even after lockdowns

for trust tastes of warm ciabatta bread

the more I buy, the more I’ll chow down

I want to croak as you strum our grunge

write while you build lights

run to Ally Pally for a walk

ride our folding bikes along River Lea

I want to laugh till I cry

like the other day in bed

But also cry till I laugh

like last sombre December

I want our hands to keep holding

as our public French kissing

with our private English jargon

veined by steep Brindisinian cursing

Yesterday, over the bad fence, Rowena told us

“Been together for sixteen years, but

You’re still smiling like that?”

“E certo!” I went, “What’s the point, otherwise?”

?

What’s the point, otherwise?

The. Point. Otherwise

For I am your gig

and you are my theatre,

every day a different show

yet we have our fortes

Unknowns won’t tear us down

not grief nor viruses or times,

as we cherish the here and now

and lose count of our lines

ETERNO FINCHé DURA

Voglio rasarti metà testa

E intrecciarti la cresta anche dopo i lockdown

Perché la fiducia è una ciabatta fresca

Più ne sforni e più m’ingozzo

?

Voglio strillare quando strimpelli il grunge

Scrivere mentre crei luci

Correre ad Ally Pally a passeggiare

Seguire in bici il corso del Lea

?

Voglio ridere fino alle lacrime

Come quella sera in camera

Ma anche piangere fino a sorridere

Come in quel buio dicembre

?

Voglio ancora stringerti la mano

Baciarti pubblicamente alla francese

Parlarti privatamente in slang inglese

Venato di vivaci invettive brindisine

?

?

Ieri, oltre lo steccato rotto, Rowena chiedeva

“Insieme da sedici anni

E ridete ancora così?”

“E certo!”, ho fatto, “Altrimenti, punto e basta”

Altrimenti, punto e basta?

Punto. E. Basta

?

Perché io sono il tuo concerto

E tu il mio teatro

Ogni giorno uno spettacolo nuovo

E di noto, solo il canovaccio

?

Gli imprevisti non ci abbatteranno

o i lutti, i virus, gli anni

Perché onoriamo il qui e ora

Perdendo il conto di righe e rughe

?

?@Lucia Morciano

Ps: you’ll find the Spanish version in a separate article ;)