E I’ Te Vulette Bene Assaje
Quann’i’ partette ‘a Gaeta,
Nun guardavo manco ‘o cielo,
Tenevo l’uocchie nterra
E po me ne jevo usemanno l’addore ‘e mare,
Ciento suonne cupe
Passanno pe copp’’a pella
Cu ‘e carezze d’’o viento.
A Lisbona t’aggio veduta p’’a primma vota,
Nnanz’a na funtana,
E te secutavo, ncopp’’a na via,
E sentevo n’acqua nova
Ca schezzecchejava.
Tu me tenive mente
E me dunave nu surriso,
Dentezzulle mmiez’’e labbra curalline,
E me chiammaste zíngaro
E i’ te vulette bene assaje.
And I Loved You So
When I departed Gaeta,
I didn’t even look at the sky,
I had my eyes downward
And then I went away sniffing the odour of the sea,
A hundred dark dreams
Passing over my skin
With the caresses of the wind.
In Lisbon I saw you for the first time,
Before a fountain,
And I followed you, up a lane,
And I felt a new water
For it was drizzling.
And you were watching me
And you gave me a smile,
Little teeth between coral-like lips,
And you called me a gypsy
And I loved you so.
* 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.
