I KNEW THE GRAY SKY- A Poem by Irma Kurti

I KNEW THE GRAY SKY

I lived a severe winter of love

with chilliness, rain, and snow;

I didn’t know there were too

other seasons in this world.

Immersed every day in an abyss,

I felt shivers and coldness.

Above me—an endless gray sky;

I lost the light, the music, the songs.

This severe, everlasting period

robbed all my happiness and joy.

I forgot about the other seasons.

I was with you, but still alone.

In that winter without a caress,

I desperately needed some fire;

but you could not give it to me;

you didn’t say even, “good-bye.”

I knew only the gray sky.

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

Kurti has also 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 received a lifetime nomination as an Ambassador of Peace by the University of Peace, Italian Switzerland.

In 2020, she became the honorary president of WikiPoesia, the encyclopedia of poetry. In 2021, she was awarded the title of Liria (Freedom) by the Italian-Albanian community in Italy. In 2022, she was also nominated as the Albanian ambassador to the International Academic Award of Contemporary Literature Seneca of the Academy of Philosophical Arts and Sciences, Bari. She also won the prestigious 2023 Naji Naaman's literary prize for complete work.

Irma Kurti has published 27 books in Albanian, 24 in Italian, 15 in English, and two in French. She has written approximately 150 lyrics for adults and children. She has also translated 17 books by different authors, and all of her own books into Italian and English. Her books have been translated and published in 14 countries.