IRMA KURTI

 

 

In The Same Boat

 

“Am I dying?” you asked me suddenly,

your transparent skin, like a white sheet.

“Is this my goodbye to life?” A tear fell

from your eyes, the last leaf on the tree.

 

I rested my fingers on your hand, slowly

whispering, “You’re not leaving at all.

We die a little bit every hour, every day,

so we’re equal, we’re in the same boat.”

 

Friendships

 

Friendships that are bound and

unbound, like the laces of shoes,

leaving you in the midst of

the street, feeling uneasy.

 

You bend over to fix them,

and a moment later you realize

that it’s better not to trust them

and barefoot continue on your path.

 

Other People, Other Stories

 

I have to meet other people, listen

to other stories, dry other tears, but

no one of them are like you, like

your tears and melodious voice.

 

Other people and a thousand stories

keep me stuck on the tortuous

roads. I would never like to step on

them: a chaos of events or intrigues

just like a house of cobwebs.

 

I have to meet other people, listen

to other stories, dry other tears too,

though inside me, I keep a gray sky

and all roads lead me back to you.

 

Pretending To Sleep

 

I have closed my eyes,

pretending to sleep;

afraid to move,

I cannot even breathe.

 

So cold under the sheets,

I want to leave this bed;

I want to lie in a green park,

where I don’t have to fake.

 

I want to rest in a meadow

 that leaks tranquility;

in a place without you,

immersed in joy and peace.

 

I’m pretending to sleep…

 

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. Irma Kurti has won numerous literary prizes and awards in Italy and Italian Switzerland. She collaborates with various newspapers, magazines, and websites in Italian, Albanian, and English. She 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 26 books in Albanian, 21 in Italian, 13 in English, and two in French. She has also translated 13 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 published in the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Romania, Turkey, Kosovo, the Philippines, Cameroon, India, Chile, and Serbia.