PIECES OF ME

There is no air in this room,
but only pain dripping like 
tears from my soul. I begin 
to break, disintegrate into 
pieces, as I look at my dad,
amidst pain and suffering
going to the road leading 
him to his last refuge. I see 
pieces of me here and there, 
but can’t collect them. Grief 
erodes me, robs my voice, 
as I want to scream with all
my force in this room where
there’s no air, but only tears,
anguish, and much despair.


WHITE DOVE

Tell me, do you feel pain, dear Father,
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.


TWO LEAVES

Our souls resemble two leaves suspended 
in the air; they tremble delicately when a
breeze blows; they approach and kiss one 
another; they avoid one another in a state 
of chaos.


Our sensitive, fragile, and frightened souls,
in this wild world that allows them no time
to breathe for a moment – they are so clear
limpid and transparent, sprinkled with dew.


IT’S A SIN TO CLOSE MY EYES 

It’s a sin to close my eyes this very day 
when lots of kisses the sun sends my way, 
from the window the breeze caresses me 
like an invisible and distant hand of love. 


No weeping saddens the limpid air, 
no clouds tear up the endless blue of sky; 
my complaint does not resemble a sob 
but a musical and melancholic sound. 


Bad weather with rains and lightning 
I’d prefer to accompany my departure. 
It’s a sin to fade away on a day like this: 
life smiles and revives in each particle. 

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 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. 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, 15 in English, and two in French. She has written approximately 150 lyrics for adults and children. She has also translated 16 books by different authors, and all of her own books into Italian and English. She 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.