Yesterday the tallest boy
put a stone
between his teeth
and began to chew.
He showed
his mother
what a mouth can do
when pushed to extremes
and that a ransacked home
is only a ransacked home.
Yesterday all the tallest boys
made their enemies starve
and quickly gathered up their toys.
They showed their mothers
the order
and discipline of the dead.
Then they ran
to wash their hands
and listen
to the news
in the form of lullabies.
By Laura Acerboni
Translated by George Tatge
Laura Accerboni has published two poetry collections: Attorno a ciò che non è stato and La parte dell’annegato. She has won the Lerici Pea, Piero Alinari and Achille Marazza awards and was one of the poets selected for the Versopolis project, promoted by the European Union. She is member of the transnational literary agency, Linguafranca.
From La parte dell’annegato (Edizioni Nottetempo, 2015
Photo of Laura Acerboni © Edizioni Nottetempo