The voice does not connect, does not
reach all the way between us
like a phon in water
instead it stops like a
circuit breaker
flipped on or off
at random. The two of us
are a country
under embargo,
living on parentheses and
silences, on blackouts,
so that when the lights finally
come on again, we have already
forgotten what to say to each other.

Translation: 2004, Elisa Biagini