Montale: “Cave d’autumno”/”Autumn Quarries”

Cave d’autumno
su cui discende la primavera lunar
e nimba di candore ogni frastaglio,
schianti di pigne, abbaglio
di reti stese e schegge,

ritornernà ritornernà sul gelo
la bontà d’una mano,
varcherà il cielo lontano
la ciurna luminosa che ci saccheggia.

Autumn Quarries
where the moonlit spring descends,
haloing every notch and knob with brightness:
dropping pinecones, dazzle
of hung nets and shards;

the kindness of a hand will come
again, come over the chill,
into the distant sky the shining swarm
will pass that plunders us.

(translation by Jonathan Galassi)

Photo credit: moon through leafless trees in the yard by ctd 2005