sometimes poems find themselves in prose

Giuseppe Ungaretti is one of my favorite poets. When I was a student at the University of Bologna, he was the focus of my Italian Poetry oral exam. When I showed up for the exam a fellow student asked who I was going to be talking about with il professore. I said, Ungaretti. And who is your other poet? he asked. We're supposed to talk about two? I said.

Of course, I went with Montale. Grand Master Flash. I was lucky. We talked about the few poems I knew well, which is to say, I knew a thing or two about. Allora...

as when
turning around, and, sweeping clear your forehead
of its cloud of hair,

you waved to me—and entered the dark.