L’ombra

La tua ombra nel mio cuore si animò, divenne vita pulsante.
Un battito accelerato, un respiro sospeso… poi il sangue riprese a scorrere impetuoso nelle mie vene.
Chi può sapere cosa resta di noi nell’anima altrui?

Avevo creduto di aver congelato il mio amore per te, ma il tempo mi dimostrò il contrario.
Come uno spettatore silenzioso, vidi passare i ricordi, la mia vita…
Ogni giorno un interrogativo senza risposta.

Un incontro casuale, il passato che riaffiora, quell’amore che avevo cercato di dimenticare si risvegliò vivo nei miei occhi, nelle mie mani tremanti, nel battito del mio cuore.
Cuore che ancora cerca la tua ombra tra la folla, che ti ama, che vorrebbe fuggire dal dolore che mi hai inflitto.

Una promessa di rivederci, poi… il nulla.
Il tempo scorre veloce, indifferente.
Ritorno alla vita, dove ti ho sognato, odiato, amato.
Forse ti rivedrò, ma tu tornerai a essere l’ombra nel mio cuore,
un’ombra che non dimenticherò mai.

Zaira Sellerio

The Shadow

Your shadow came to life in my heart, it became a pulsing life.
A racing heartbeat, a suspended breath… then the blood surged fiercely through my veins.
Who can know what remains of us in another’s soul?

I thought I had frozen my love for you, but time proved me wrong.
Like a silent spectator, I watched memories pass by, my life…
Each day a question without an answer.

A chance encounter, the past resurfacing, that love I tried to forget awoke alive in my eyes,
in my trembling hands, in the beating of my heart.
A heart that still seeks your shadow in the crowd, that loves you,
that longs to escape the pain you inflicted upon me.

A promise to meet again, then… nothing.
Time flows swiftly, indifferent.
I return to life, where I dreamed of you, hated you, loved you.
Perhaps I’ll see you again, but you will return to being the shadow in my heart,
a shadow I will never forget.

Zaira Sellerio

Woman’s shadow ChatGPT Image Aug 18, 2025

Review

The Shadow by Zaira Sellerio is a poem that explores with depth the feelings tied to lost love and enduring memory. Through vivid and precise imagery, the author manages to convey universal emotions: the heartbeat, the suspended breath, the blood surging back through the veins become tools to relive the passion and pain of memory.

The poem plays with time and memory, alternating between past and present, like a silent and attentive gaze upon one’s own life. A chance encounter with the past reawakens emotions thought to be dormant: desire, nostalgia, and a still-vivid pain. The shadow becomes a symbol of what remains indelible in the heart, a love that persists even when everything seems over.

With a lyrical and delicate style, Sellerio describes the conflict between memory and the life that goes on, between the hope of seeing a loved one again and the awareness of their absence. The poem leaves a profound emotional imprint, capable of speaking to the reader with sincerity and strength, confirming the author’s talent in transforming complex emotions into words that linger.

Giulietta e Romeo – Romeo and Juliet

Some awards and recognitions for her works

National Poetry Prize “Arturo Massimi” in October 1999, Mentana – Rome.
Plaque for the narrative prize at the international competition “Pelosa” in Messina, November 2000.
Poetry plaque awarded by the Province of Rome, October 2000.
International Competition “Antonio de Curtis” in Rome.
Poets and Society Prize, German-Swiss delegation (international competition, honorable mention).
Unpublished Poetry Prize, 5th edition of the “L’attualità – Bartolucci” prize, finalist diploma, October 27, 2001.
International Artistic-Literary Competition “Antonio de Curtis – Totò,” Rome, October 22, 2002.
ALIAS (Italian-Australian Writers’ Academy, in collaboration with C.R.A.S.E.S. in Palermo).
International Literary Competition, 3rd ex-aequo poetry prize, October 10, 2003.
First Poetry Prize at the “Il Salotto dell’Arte” gallery, Rome, March 22, 2009.
“A Life for Culture” Prize, “Il Salotto dell’Arte” gallery, Rome.
4th International Literary Prize “Europa” for the novel From the Depths of the Heart, May 11, 2014, Lugano.
2nd Navarro Prize for the novel From the Depths of the Heart, May 13, 2018, Sambuca di Sicilia – Sicily.
Special Lilly Broggi Prize “La Pergola Arte” for the novel From the Depths of the Heart, Florence, October 27, 2018.
5th Prize for the novel From the Depths of the Heart at Versilia Club “Massa, Fairy-Tale City of Sea and Marble,” September 28, 2019.
1st International Prize dedicated to the female universe “Donne d’Amore” V. Barrett, poetry section for “On the Steps of Piazza di Spagna.”
1st Prize for the literature section – novel, for the text Courage Is Female, Rome, May 22, 2023.
Poetry Prize “At Your Feet,” city of Mercogliano (AV), for the poem “And There I Met My Mother,” September 8, 2024.
11th Edition San Valentino Prize – City of Atripalda (AV) – Cupido World Wide Section, for the poem “Ich habe dich geliebt” (I Loved You), April 26–27, 2025.