Chiesa di San Giacomo Maggiore

I lit a candle in front of the fierce
gilt of the Madonna, in the still air.
The church was massive and filled with silence,
and, although I knew that you were not there
it helped me to imagine that you were.
And the sun, falling in through the old glass,
gave a little of itself in the fire
that passed from one lit candle to the next.

Although I know you are gone, in your place
is a flame that I will watch for a time,
silent, trying once more to see your face
as the light throws itself into the room,
quickly lost within this space. It is done.
Beyond this empty room I see the sun.

Bologna
16/11/2001