Poems from Lerici: Minòn

Minòn good cat
who did not return.
When I walk through Montemarcello
I see many good-looking cats,
but none has your snout and your marmot ways.
The roofs that touch the window
from which you came in
are empty—
Minòn good cat,
who went off to die,
as all cats do,
far from home.

Paolo Bertolani
translated by Massimo Bacigalupo and Jennifer Compton