Int'A Sti Lágreme Toje
Int' a sti lágreme toje
Veco sulo nu dimane,
Vuosche frische senza fine
E sciumme ca scórreno
Sott'a nu sole
Ca fa accréscere 'a recóveta.
Int'a sti lágreme toje
Nun nce ponno stá
'A malincunía e 'a fracetumma 'ajere,
Fummo 'e speranza ca se ne va,
Gulíe ca nun fanno chiù durmi,
L'amaro rummaso int' 'e vene.
Int'a sti lágreme toje
Nce stanno assaje cose
Ca nu juorno nce putéssemo dícere,
Quatto síecule mise nziemme
Dint'a n'abbraccio ca sape sulo mo,
Nu viento sciuscianno 'accopp'a l'onne 'argiento.
In These Tears Of Yours
In these tears of yours
I see only a tomorrow,
Cool forests without end
And rivers that run
Beneath a sun
That makes the harvest increase.
In these tears of yours
There can not be
The melancholy and rottenness of yesterday,
Smoke of hope that fades,
Longings that don't let you sleep,
The bitterness left in the blood.
In these tears of yours
There are many things
That one day we could say to each other,
Four centuries put together
In an embrace that knows only now,
A wind blowing atop the silvery waves.
* 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.
