Poetry “To reconstruct the animal”

Carmen Gallo

To reconstruct the animal
from the promises it was
capable of keeping. And forget.
Not from the bones it left behind
but from its tracks retreating.
From how it ran. Simple shape.
The inner story and the outer.
Whoever runs loses. Whoever runs
vanishes, taking everything with them.
Whoever stays learns to hide. To be nothing.
To concoct theories. Nothing happens
to those who disappear.

Translated from the Italian by Will Schutt

Carmen Gallo lives in Naples and teaches at Sapienza University of Rome. She has translated works by Shakespeare, Eliot, Caryl Churchill, and Hannah Sullivan, and has published books of poetry and photo essays. Her latest book of poetry is Procne Machine (Einaudi 2026).

Will Schutt is a poet and translator. His most recent translation, Brief Homage to Pluto and Other Poems by Fabio Pusterla, was published by Princeton University Press in 2023. He lives in Rome.

This poem appears in Issue 17 of The Drift. To support our work, subscribe or make a tax-deductible donation. To receive our latest content, sign up for our email list.