IRMA KURTI

 

 

These Are Not Leaves

 

These are not leaves that the autumn

throws on my hair, my shoulders;

they are hands greeting me today

while I drag an old and heavy suitcase

that keeps the seasons we lived together.

 

These are not raindrops running down

my cheeks, but tears: so limpid and clear.

 

These are not puddles reflecting now my

face but rivers of thoughts and reflections.

 

Goodbyes always hurt; they leave you

bitter in the heart, even if, somewhere

out there, a world of magic colors waits…

 

Ice Between My Fingers

 

I wanted to hear your voice.

My heart would blossom like

a flower; my joy would flow

just like a stream through the

long telephone wire.

 

I would bring the spring into

my hands, bird songs, a wealth

of buds. I would watch this

scary and chaotic world with

happy and loving eyes.

 

I wanted to hear your voice

and touch happiness with

my hands, but they feel cold,

so between my fingers

I now have only ice and frost.

 

White Dove

 

Tell me, do you feel pain, dear Dad,

on the narrow path, on the way that

leads you to nothing? I beg you, give

it to me! I will shelter your pain in my

chest, liberate you so that your soul

will be free; it will fly away in the air

somewhere, like a lovely white dove.

 

IRMA KURTI

 

IRMA KURTI is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator and has been writing since she was a child. She is a naturalized Italian and lives in Bergamo, Italy. All her books are dedicated to the memory of her beloved parents, Hasan Kurti and Sherife Mezini, who have supported and encouraged every step of her literary path. Kurti has won numerous literary prizes and awards in Albania, Italy, Switzerland, USA, Philippines, Lebanon and China. She was awarded the Universum Donna International Prize IX Edition 2013 for Literature and received a lifetime nomination as an Ambassador of Peace by the University of Peace, Italian Switzerland. In 2020, she became the honorary president of WikiPoesia, the encyclopedia of poetry.  In 2022, she was nominated as the Albanian ambassador to the International Academic Award of Contemporary Literature Seneca of the Academy of Philosophical Arts and Sciences, Bari.  That same year, she was awarded the title of Mother Foundress and Lady of the Order of Dante Alighieri by the Republic of Poets. She received the Grazia Deledda medal and diploma of merit from the National Committee of WikiPoesia on the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Italian poet. In 2023 she was awarded a Career Award from the Universum Academy Switzerland. She also won the prestigious 2023 Naji Naaman's literary prize for complete work. Irma Kurti is a member of the jury for several literary competitions in Italy. She is also a translator for the Ithaca Foundation in Spain. Irma Kurti has published 29 books in Albanian, 25 in Italian, 15 in English, and two in French. She has also translated 20 books by different authors, and all of her own books into Italian and English. Irma Kurti is one of the most translated and published Albanian poets. Her books have been translated and published in 16 countries.