June 16, 2024

Happy Father's Day!

Requiescat in pace
In celebration of Father's Day I'm sharing a poem by Achille Serrao from Cantallèsia: Poems in the Neapolitan Dialect (1990-1997), edited and translated by Luigi Bonaffini, Legas 1999, p. 68-69.

My Father Never Left...

My father never left
the last mouthful in the plate
and didn’t throw away half a cigarette, ever.


I do, times have changed
and so have sayings…
as for instance:
tell me who your father is
I’ll tell you who you are.

Pàtemo nun lassava...

Pàtemo nun lassava
'o muorzo d''a crianza dint' ô piatto
e nun jettava 'a meza sigaretta, mai.

I' si, 'e tiempe só ccagnate
e 'nzieme 'e ditte càgneno...
tanto pe' mme n'ascì:
'e chi sì ffiglio, dimme
e te dico chi sì.