Se Ne Trase ‘A Luna
Pe Rosetta Fidora Ruiz
Se ne trase ‘a luna
Cu ‘e cardille vernejanno,
Fosse mezanotte,
Fosse ‘o briamutto e ‘o giessumino
Ca nce stanno già cunzummanno,
Nun he ‘a dícere na meza parola,
Rummanímmela ‘a parte ‘e vascio
‘A canzuncella ca se n’è trasuta
Int’’a vicchiaja.
‘A calimma saglie ‘a cà nterra,
Nu lietto úmmeto spaso a punente,
‘E voce noste attrassate
Se spérdeno pe sott’’o cielo cupo,
Lassámmele stà tutt’’e raggione,
Cadimmo senza ‘e nce guardà,
‘O riesto ‘e dimane
Già scritto int’’o niro ‘e ll’uocchie.
The Moon Enters
The moon enters
With the goldfinches chirping
Could it be midnight,
Could it be the bergamot and the jasmine
That are already consuming us,
You don’t have to say half of a word,
Let’s leave it down there
The little song that has entered
Into old age.
The heat is rising from the ground here,
A humid bed stretched to the west,
Our backward voices
Lose themselves under the sullen sky,
Let’s leave all reasons alone,
Let’s fall without looking at each other,
The rest of tomorrow
Already written in our pupils.
* Self-published in 2010, Meridiunalata / Southernade is a treasury of poems gleaned from Cav. Sant'Elia's previous collections (Nchiuso dint''o presente, 'A cuntrora, and 'O pino e l'éllera), which were circulated among friends in New York City and Naples. Special thanks to Cav. Sant'Elia for allowing us to reprint his poetry and translations.
With the goldfinches chirping
Could it be midnight,
Could it be the bergamot and the jasmine
That are already consuming us,
You don’t have to say half of a word,
Let’s leave it down there
The little song that has entered
Into old age.
The heat is rising from the ground here,
A humid bed stretched to the west,
Our backward voices
Lose themselves under the sullen sky,
Let’s leave all reasons alone,
Let’s fall without looking at each other,
The rest of tomorrow
Already written in our pupils.
* Self-published in 2010, Meridiunalata / Southernade is a treasury of poems gleaned from Cav. Sant'Elia's previous collections (Nchiuso dint''o presente, 'A cuntrora, and 'O pino e l'éllera), which were circulated among friends in New York City and Naples. Special thanks to Cav. Sant'Elia for allowing us to reprint his poetry and translations.
