The Last Leaf

First published in Frogpond 13:1, February 1990. This was the first time for me to be published in Frogpond, as shown here. My original intent was for these poems to make a leaf shape, so I had wanted the first poem to be about half an inch further to the right and for there to be more space after the title, but the original appearance is pretty close to my intent. The “empty swings” verse also appeared in After Shock (San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 1990). The entire sequence later appeared in Tremors (Foster City, California: Press Here, 1990). See the Press Here page for the book where this sequence appears. An Italian translation of this sequence by Lucia Fontana appears below. See also my “Holes in the Awning” haibun.

after the quake

the weathervane

pointing to earth

autumn sun

amid the rubble

quaking aspen

after the quake

candlelight dinner

aftershock

tripping on the flashlight

in the dark

another victim—

laying the body bag

on the flower bed

aftershock

empty swings

swaying

nightfall

the last leaf

trembles

L’ultima Foglia

translations by Lucia Fontana

The following translations appeared on Chanokeburi, the translator’s blog, posted on 27 August 2016 (link no longer works).

Questi poemi sono stati composti in seguito al terremoto di San Francisco del 17 ottobre 1989 ancora vivido nella memoria dell’autore, come da lui stesso confermatomi.

‘L’ultima foglia’ è stato inizialmente pubblicato su Frogpond 1990. Le ‘ali vuote’ apparso anche in After Shock (San Francisco: Two Autumns Press, 1990). L’intera sequenza più tardi edita in Tremors (Foster City, California: Press Here, 1990). Vedere anche ‘Holes in the Awning’ haibun.

6 Haiku di Michael Dylan Welch

after the quake
the weathervane
pointing to earth

dopo il terremoto
la banderuola
indicando la terra

autumn sun
amid the rubble
quaking aspen

sole d’autunno
tremando fra le macerie
il pioppo tremolo

after the quake
candlelight dinner

dopo il terremoto
cena a lume di candela

aftershock
tripping on the flashlight
in the dark

scossa d’assestamento
inciampando sulla torcia
nell’oscurità

aftershock
empty swings
swaying

scossa d’assestamento
altalene vuote
dondolano

nightfall
the last leaf
trembles

crepuscolo
l’ultima foglia
trema

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