AustLit

Dedication:

This is for my gorgeous, pragmatic, quiet, thoughtful and strong
little sister, Jenny Farrell, who, like Tallow, burns brightly
in times of darkness.

It's also for Jim McKay, who's not only one of the smartest and kindest
people I know, but who defines, through his actions and selflessness,
what it is to be a friend.

Illumination is for both of you, with all my love.

Epigraph [presented in first Italian and then English on opposing pages]:

ELISIR D'INFINITO

... Lei si assopì sfinita,
devastata da una vita grama
voleva farla finita ...
e Amore vide quell' essere perduto
nel dolor, freddo di morte.

S'inginocchiò,
Prese quell viso fra le mani calde,
Posò le labbra sulle papebre arse
E dolcemente le chiese:
Vuoi un po' d'amore?
– che cos'è? –
lei ripose con un filo di voce,
Elisir d'infinito ...
Distillato dalla mente e dal cuore
D'angeli e di poeti in armonia col Creato!
– ah ...! e serve a che? –
A irradiare calore a un corpo intirizzito,
A acclarare lo spirito,
A tritrovar la forze di lottare ...

Lionello Grifo

ELIXIR OF INFINITY

... She dozed off exhausted,
ravaged by a wretched life
she wanted to end it ...
and Love saw
that pained being
cold with death.

He knelt,
he held that face in his warm hands,
his lips touching her dry eyelids
and asked her softly:
Would you like Love?
– What is it? –
she whispered,
Elixir of infinity ...
Distilled by the mind and the heart
of angels and poets
who are in harmony with Nature!
– Ah ...! And what is it for? –
To warm a cold body,
To illuminate the spirit.
To find anew the will to struggle ...