I never wished for this abundance
of wisdom hoarded in my hollow
heart, primed at any moment
to pour forth like a melodic strain
from the throat of the Baal Shem Tov.
They bought me at a market stall
in Łódź, then took me home
to grace their kitchen shelves
with the kitsch of folklore.
No love, no dancing, no joy is savored
except for what food fortune
sets on the tongue. I’m ready,
my Lord, from this point onward
to spill myself out boisterously
atop the unsutured wounds of history.
–
Marc Alan Di Martino is the author of the micro-chap Love Poem with Pomegranate (Ghost City Press, 2023) and the collections Still Life with City (Pski’s Porch, 2022) and Unburial (Kelsay, 2019). His poems and translations appear in Cider Press Review, Minyan, Rattle, and many other journals and anthologies. His work has been nominated for both the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. His translation Day Lasts Forever: Selected Poems of Mario dell’Arco will be published by World Poetry Books in 2024. He lives in Italy.