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Bee Bee Bee CS 14 Left Bee Turtle swan

Clade Song 14

Heron-esque

You imitate his hunt with a quiet start
reveling in your photographic capture
of the imposing great blue heron’s art.
You emulate his immobile rapture.
Conjoined you perch upon an oak pilaster
concealed in upraised arboreal peaks
prepared to cast away your lofty stature
immerse your talons in clear salmon creeks
as soon as they jump up, expose their silver
scales, flash their dorsal fins, you tear them apart
with your dagger beak, snatch them with your quivers
delight your tongue with their fresh broken hearts.

 

In guisa di airone

Imita la sua caccia in un sussulto
di calma godendosi la cattura
fotografica dell’airone occulto
della sua cinerina sprezzatura.
Congiunti sopra un pilastro di quercia
innalzati sull’arborea cima
ci si prepara al tuffo, si sfreccia
giù verso il torrente che fa rima
con i diamanti dei suoi bagliori
e le scaglie argentee dei salmoni.
Si affonda il becco nei freschi cuori
poi manda la tagliente lingua fuori.

CS 14 Right Bird slug coyote
Barbara Carle

Barbara Carle is poet, translator, and critic. Author of four bilingual books of poetry: Don’t Waste My Beauty, Non guastare la mia bellezza, Caramanica, 2006, New Life Nuova vita, Gradiva, 2006, and Tangible Remains Toccare quello che resta, Ghenomena, 2009, and a rewritten version, Touching What Remains, Toccare quello che resta, Ghenomena, 2021, Vestigia, Caramanica Editions, 2023, and a book of poetry and prose in Italian: Sulle orme di Circe, Ghenomena, 2016, she has translated various contemporary Italian authors in English and French, most recently, Lino Angiuli, Poesie vegetali, Green Poems, Edizioni di Pagina, 2021).