DANCING WITH YOU, DAD

Written by Irma Kurti

Translated from the Albanian by the poet

Narrated by Kristine Doll

 

I would love to dance with you, Dad,

two waves that embrace each other,

follow the slow rhythm of your steps,

hum the fragment of a song and laugh.

 

We’ll glide just like a ship on the sea,

talk for hours, like we did in the past,

touch happiness even for an instant,

dancing the waltz of a treacherous life.

 

 

I’ve forgotten the echo of your steps,

that guided me when I was a child,

now the fate has brought you down

to your knees, not your soul and heart.

 

I would love to dance with you, Dad.

 

 

Irma Kurti is an Albanian poet, writer, lyricist, journalist, and translator. She is a naturalized Italian. She has been writing since she was a child. All her books are dedicated to the memory of her beloved parents Hasan Kurti and Sherife Mezini, who supported and encouraged every step of her literary path.

Irma Kurti has published 25 books in Albanian, 17 in Italian and 6 in English. She has written about 150 lyrics for adults and children, including in Italian and English. She is also the translator of 10 books of different authors and of all her books in Italian and English.  She lives in Bergamo, Italy.

Kurti has won numerous literary prizes and awards in Italy and Italian Switzerland. She was awarded the “Universum Donna” International Prize IX Edition 2013 for Literature and the lifetime nomination of “Ambassador of Peace” by the University of Peace of Italian Switzerland. In 2020, she received the title of Honorary President of WikiPoesia, the Encyclopedia of Poetry. In 2021, she was awarded the title “Liria” (Freedom) by the Arbëreshë Community in Italy.