ONLY A SHADOW by Irma Kurti

Only a Shadow

You occupy no space in my life. 

You are only a shadow.

But sometimes when I’m tranquil 

that I’ve forgotten all about you,

 I feel something; maybe nostalgia.

You suddenly invade my thoughts.

You don’t want to go,

though I try to chase you away. 

I find you in my every thought 

and you want to stay there.

I don’t know what to do.

There’s no more love between us. 

You must go, you understand: 

The fire is extinguished.

But you don’t go— so I rush

to escape traces and memories

that bring your image close to me.

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. She graduated from the English Department of the University of Tirana in 1988, and has since worked as a teacher of English and journalist for various newspapers. 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 2023 she was awarded a Career Award from the Universum Academy Switzerland. She also won the prestigious 2023 Naji Naaman's literary prize for complete work.

Irma Kurti has published 30 books in Albanian, 26 in Italian, 16 in English, and two in French. She has also translated 21 books by different authors, and all of her own books into Italian and English. Her books have been translated and published in 17 countries.