Two obituaries

This horrible late winter has been devouring aged lives with the glee of a suicide bomber. The two losses I have suffered in the last two days are typical: the famous and the unknown, the familiar and the distant, all seem to be dying at once, as if God, having given us so much time with them, had grown impatient that we were paying so little attention to their wisdom, to their lives.

Last monday, my grandmother died; yesterday, our great national poet, Mario Luzi. Both are losses that are hard to explain to those who do not belong to our particular circle - my family; or the Italian nation. ( Read more... )