To My FriendsDear friends, and here I say friends
the broad sense of the word:
Wife, sister, associates, relatives,
Schoolmates of both sexes,
People seen only once
Or frequented all my life;
Provided that between us, for at least a moment,
A line has been stretched,
A well-defined bond.
I speak for you, companions of a crowded
Road, not without its difficulties,
And for you too, who have lost
Soul, courage, the desire to live;
Or no one, or someone, or perhaps only one person, or you
Who are reading me: remember the time
Before the wax hardened,
When everyone was like a seal.
Each of us bears the imprint
Of a friend met along the way;
In each the trace of each.
For good or evil
In wisdom or in folly
Everyone stamped by everyone.
Now that the time crowds in
And the undertakings are finished,
To all of you the humble wish
That autumn will be long and mild.
-Primo levi
"To My Friends" has always been such a meaningful poem in my life. 'Now that time crowds in...' (though in my book, The Mirror Maker" that is different: Now that time presses urgently, and the tasks are finished...", "The Mirror Maker, Stories and Essays by Primo Levi, Translated by Raymond Rosenthal, Schocken Books, New York, 1989). "Now that time presses urgently", what an exquisite poem, this gentle man wishes us a ' mild and long autumn'. Not spring, thankfully not winter, but autumn when colour is abundant, a feast for the eyes. I could write an essay on this but instead I will thank Emily for reminding me of a great man, human being, though a mind tortured throughout his life, in this poem he softens and shows us beauty. Thank you Emily.
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