Prunes and Prisms, a bilingual (Italian and English) collection of original work by two poets reaching across the ocean, is a correspondence in the Spicerian sense, a reaching toward a counterpart. Begun in the height of the pandemic, William Allegrezza and Serena Piccoli aim their poetic discourse at topics ranging from politics to meaning. Here are two poems from near the beginning, in English only:

Locked Down

He’s scratching his wall with metallic nails
as she concentrates on her resolution to
stop the pandemic with garlic
and shifty news tied to a stick, ancient reborn.

In another quarantined house they’re having spinach and monoliths for dinner
while murmuring softly through fear and the daily count piling up.
Suddenly they’re told they’ve run out of garlic
and the panic sets in, told on screens, with photo eyes.

 

2020 City

The old rocking chair facing the window is now empty,
and I slump in its arc under dull light. The city beyond is
waving old rock clothes on rusty wires,
and I offer some pocket change to keep the light flickering
as the clouds are purple and the thoughts are darker.
Fig leaves again as statues sink with cultural turns
and humans turn to harm with no arms
and all color gone. The morality of this situation changes
peanuts into cryptocurrency and old values into new ones
spray painted on sidewalk walls for clarity.

Check out the book here.