CLOE
A
Cloe, grande città, le persone che passano per le vie non si conoscono. Al
vedersi immaginano mille cose l'uno dell'altro, gli incontri che potrebbero
avvenire tra loro, le conversazioni, le sorprese, le carezze, i morsi. Ma
nessuno saluta nessuno, gli sguardi s'incrociano per un secondo e poi si
sfuggono, cercano altri sguardi, non si fermano.
Passa
una ragazza che fa girare un parasole appoggiato alla spalla, e anche un poco il
tondo delle anche. Passa una donna nerovestita che dimostra tutti i suoi anni,
con gli occhi inquieti sotto il velo e le labbra tremanti. Passa un gigante
tatuato; un uomo giovane coi capelli bianchi; una nana; due gemelle vestite di
corallo. Qualcosa corre tra loro, uno scambiarsi di sguardi come linee che
collegano una figura all'altra e disegnano frecce, stelle, triangoli, finché
tutte le combinazioni in un attimo sono esaurite, e altri personaggi entrano in
scena: un cieco con un ghepardo alla catena, una cortigiana col ventaglio di
piume di struzzo, un efebo, una donna-cannone. Così tra chi per caso si trova
insieme a ripararsi dalla pioggia sotto il portico, o si accalca sotto un
tendone del bazar, o sosta ad ascoltare la banda in piazza, si consumano
incontri, seduzioni, amplessi, orge, senza che ci si scambi una parola, senza
che ci si sfiori con un dito, quasi senza alzare gli occhi.
Una
vibrazione lussuriosa muove continuamente Cloe, la più casta delle città. Se
uomini e donne cominciassero a vivere i loro effimeri sogni, ogni fantasma
diventerebbe una persona con cui cominciare una storia d'inseguimenti, di
finzioni, di malintesi, d'urti, di oppressioni, e la giostra delle fantasie si
fermerebbe.
Italo
Calvino,
Le città invisibili
In Chloe, a great city, the people who move through
the streets are all strangers. At each encounter, they
imagine a thousand things about one another; meetings
which could take place between them, conversations,
surprises, caresses, bites. But no one greets
anyone; eyes lock for a second, then dart away, seeking
other eyes, never stopping.
A girl comes along, twirling a parasol on her
shoulder, and twirling slightly also her rounded
bips. A woman in black comes along, showing her
full age. her eyes restless beneath her veil. her lips
trembling. A tattooed giant comes along; a young
man with white hair; a female dwarf; two girls,
twins, dressed in coral. Something runs among
them, an exchange of glances like lines that connect
one figure with another and draw arrows, stars. triangles.
until all combinations are used up in a moment,
and other characters come on to the scene: a
blind man with a cheetah on a leash, a courtesan
with an ostrich-plume fan, an ephebe. a Fat Woman.
And thus. when some people happen to find themselves
together, taking shelter from the rain under an
arcade. or crowding beneath an awning of the bazaar,
or stopping to listen to the band in the square,
meetings. seductions. copulations, orgies are consummated
among them without a word exchanged.
without a finger touching anything. almost without
an eye raised.
A voluptuous vibration constantly stirs Chloe, the
most chaste of cities. If men and women began to
live their ephemeral dreams, every phantom would
become a person with whom to begin a story of pursuits,
pretenses, misunderstandings, clashes, oppressions,
and the carousel of fantasies would stop.
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
the streets are all strangers. At each encounter, they
imagine a thousand things about one another; meetings
which could take place between them, conversations,
surprises, caresses, bites. But no one greets
anyone; eyes lock for a second, then dart away, seeking
other eyes, never stopping.
A girl comes along, twirling a parasol on her
shoulder, and twirling slightly also her rounded
bips. A woman in black comes along, showing her
full age. her eyes restless beneath her veil. her lips
trembling. A tattooed giant comes along; a young
man with white hair; a female dwarf; two girls,
twins, dressed in coral. Something runs among
them, an exchange of glances like lines that connect
one figure with another and draw arrows, stars. triangles.
until all combinations are used up in a moment,
and other characters come on to the scene: a
blind man with a cheetah on a leash, a courtesan
with an ostrich-plume fan, an ephebe. a Fat Woman.
And thus. when some people happen to find themselves
together, taking shelter from the rain under an
arcade. or crowding beneath an awning of the bazaar,
or stopping to listen to the band in the square,
meetings. seductions. copulations, orgies are consummated
among them without a word exchanged.
without a finger touching anything. almost without
an eye raised.
A voluptuous vibration constantly stirs Chloe, the
most chaste of cities. If men and women began to
live their ephemeral dreams, every phantom would
become a person with whom to begin a story of pursuits,
pretenses, misunderstandings, clashes, oppressions,
and the carousel of fantasies would stop.
Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities
