October 30, 2021

Around the Web: The Neapolitan Poetry of Angelo Manna Translated into English and Italian

Angelo Manna (1935-2001)
Thirty poems have been translated and published on Lyrics Translate

Mille e mill'anne


Mille e mmill’anne… E che vvo’ dì so’ muórte?

So’ vvive! E sta fetumma ‘e sta accedenno!

Pòvere ‘e vave nuóste; e vvuje stu tuórto

‘nziém’a fetumma v’o state spartenno…

 

‘A cemmenera!... E a cche ve serve? A nniénte!

Romma nce pasce ‘e vvacche furastere!

Romma nce tene a ttruógolo ‘e pariénte!

Vuje nun ce appartenite: e ssite zzero!

 

Partiéttemo pe mare… Eramo sciumme…

E mmo simmo turnate; e stammo ccà.

Ma po fuimmo. Nuje cu sta fetumma

 

Nun ce vulimmo avé maje cchiù a cche ffà!

E vvuje nun ‘e pperdite maje sti lumme!

E ccuntinuate a vve fà scarpesà!

1980 copy of Care paisane

A thousand years and a thousand more

A thousand years and a thousand more… What does it mean, “they are dead”?

They’re alive! And this scum is killing them!

Poor ancestors of ours; and you are sharing this offense

With that filth.

 

The chimney! What is it for? Nothing!

Rome thrives on foreign wealth!

Rome treats us like pigs!

You do not belong to us: you are nought!

 

We left for the sea… We were foam…

And now we are back; and we are here.

But then we fled… We do not want

 

To have anything to do with this filth!

And you never wake up…

And keep letting yourselves be humiliated…


Mille e mill'anne reprinted from Lyrics Translate