House Trilogy and The Life of Others
by Piero Toto
How to Address an Absence
The outline of shadows reveals
we’re born undone in the depth
of dreams in a zigzag of grunts
reflecting the silence we make
In this kingdom of vowels
stretching in foreign tongues
I turn around to feel who’s
inside me in separate rooms
Through darts of light
like a promise of thunders
a chipped lip reminds me
all I taste is eclipses of hate
the life of Others
– for Tom –
your smile turns
asphalt into lakes
islands of seclusion
rumbling like
tortured queens
playing hide & seek
we ask distracted
what am I to you?
a chin against
an empty bone
a blue spider
chewing truth
the world’s a tide
awash with wounds
rippling back when
fed on loneliness
Piero Toto (he/him) is a translation lecturer and an Italian translator from London (UK). He is the author of articles on masculinity, queer language and translation pedagogy. He writes poetry in English and Italian: his poetry in English currently appears in Seek Poetry and harana poetry. His debut Italian poetry pamphlet, “tempo 4/4”, is out with Transeuropa Edizioni. Find him on Twitter @tradutoto and Instagram poetotter
