Canto 36

It had to be explained that black eye

not normal they said in a child of that age.

He repeated a fall, an accident on the stairs

coming home in the afternoon

but the neighbour heard the screams

and the mother denied everything: he’s a child a bit careless

cuts the corners when he’s playing.

Pale blue arms in the pool

blended with the water

and no one saw them and no one talked of them

since a child is a bit careless

and the extreme consequence is normal

if seen in other shapes.

_{Registro dei Fragili}

_{translated from the Italian by Anthony Robbins}