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Italianback CORRADO GOVONI
translation from Italian by Paula Bohince
Return to My Country
I don’t know if it was summer or spring
when I ran back to my land,
sunk into the black night,
the sad smell of petrol burning over
every good smell of the countryside.
Everything was asleep: the junction dozing,
the beacon blinking, as under fluttering eyelashes,
I don’t know if in wonder or boredom.
Dazzled by headlights, staring at me
a moment from the ditch,
I glimpsed a ghost behind a tree, disappearing,
and saw the road was fleeing. 
Contributor’s notes: Corrado Govoni
Contributor’s notes: Paula Bohince
Cicada
Moon and Dogs
The Rain in February
Return to My Country