Elena Pinnen’s book-length poem, On a Breaking Wave and Other Natural Catastrophes (The Los Angeles Press, 2024) speaks of waves and surfing, and engages the truths of colonialism in the Pacific.

Composed in three days, all in one breath as if it were a short story or a long phone conversation, On a Breaking Wave expresses her perception that “in the water, all patterns are canceled, many spatial coordinates are lost, and you encounter another specific weight. In short, you enter another world. A world that is very often silent and very energetic.” Elena states, “I am in love with water in all its forms. Entering the water is a form of prayer for me.”

There is no difference between blue
and green waves
when you lose your sight.
It’s just a rush forward
and back.
Pieces of wood and branches.
I hope your arms
will embrace my words.

* * *

Non c’è differenza tra onde
blu e onde verdi
quando perdi la vista.
E’ solo uno sbattere avanti
e indietro.
Pezzi di legno e rami.
Sperando che la voce venga presa
tra le tue braccia.

---

Maybe inside the tubes
something still rumbles, looking for you…
Transhumance moves the scattered nods,
the missed greetings,
the promises of sailors.
Aloha

* * *

Chissà se dentro i tubi
rimbomba ancora
qualcosa, in cerca di te…
La transumanza sposta
i cenni dispersi,
i saluti mancati.
E le promesse dei marinai.
Aloha

---

I learned to swim
reading a user manual.
It’s like learning rhetoric
or some martial art.
I ride
either you or the sea,
depending on the favorable wind.

* * *

Ho imparato a nuotare
leggendo un manuale di istruzioni.
Come si impara la retorica
o qualche arte marziale.
Cavalco te o il mare
a seconda del vento favorevole.

---

To keep clinging to the waves: this is happiness.
There are those who claim that
‘an inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness’
as in the US Declaration of Independence
is a fruit of Polynesia.

* * *

Rimanere avvinghiati alle onde:
è questa la felicità
C e chi addirittura sostiene che
‘il diritto inalienabile alla ricerca della felicità’
nella Dichiarazione d’indipendenza americana
sia un frutto della Polinesia.