1

Lo di che han detto a' dolci amici addio.    (Dante)
Amor, con quanto sforzo oggi mi vinci!    (Petrarca)

Come back to me, who wait and watch for you:--
    Or come not yet, for it is over then,
    And long it is before you come again,
So far between my pleasures are and few.
While, when you come not, what I do I do
    Thinking "Now when he comes," my sweetest when:"
    For one man is my world of all the men
This wide world holds; O love, my world is you.
Howbeit, to meet you grows almost a pang
    Because the pang of parting comes so soon;
    My hope hangs waning, waxing, like a moon
        Between the heavenly days on which we meet:
Ah me, but where are now the songs I sang
    When life was sweet because you call'd them sweet?

    2

Era gia 1′ora che volge il desio.    (Dante)
Ricorro al tempo ch' io vi vidi prima.    (Petrarca)

I wish I could remember that first day,
    First hour, first moment of your meeting me,
    If bright or dim the season, it might be
Summer or winter for aught I can say;
So unrecorded did it slip away,
    So blind was I to see and to foresee,
    So dull to mark the budding of my tree
That would not blossom yet for many a May.
If only I could recollect it, such
    A day of days! I let it come and go
    As traceless as a thaw of bygone snow;
It seem'd to mean so little, meant so much;
If only now I could recall that touch,
    First touch of hand in hand--Did one but know!

    3

O ombre vane, fuor che ne l'aspetto!    (Dante)
Immaginata guida la conduce.    (Petrarca)

I dream of you to wake: would that I might
    Dream of you and not wake but slumber on;
    Nor find with dreams the dear companion gone,
As summer ended summer birds take flight.
In happy dreams I hold you full in sight,
    I blush again who waking look so wan;
    Brighter than sunniest day that ever shone,
In happy dreams your smile makes day of night.
Thus only in a dream we are at one,
    Thus only in a dream we give and take
        The faith that maketh rich who take or give;
    If thus to sleep is sweeter than to wake,
        To die were surely sweeter than to live,
Though there be nothing new beneath the sun.

    4

Poca favilla gran fliamma seconda.    (Dante)
Ogni altra cosa, ogni pensier va fore,
E sol ivi con voi rimansi amore.    (Petrarca)

I lov'd you first: but afterwards your love
    Outsoaring mine, sang such a loftier song
As drown'd the friendly cooings of my dove.
    Which owes the other most? my love was long,
    And yours one moment seem'd to wax more strong;
I lov'd and guess'd at you, you construed me--
And lov'd me for what might or might not be
    Nay, weights and measures do us both a wrong.
For verily love knows not "mine" or "thine;"
    With separate "I" and "thou" free love has done,
        For one is both and both are one in love:
Rich love knows nought of "thine that is not mine;"
        Both have the strength and both the length thereof,
Both of us, of the love which makes us one.

    5

Amor che a nullo amato amar perdona.    (Dante)
Amor m'addusse in si gioiosa spene.    (Petrarca)

O my heart's heart, and you who are to me
    More than myself myself, God be with you,
    Keep you in strong obedience leal and true
To Him whose noble service setteth free,
Give you all good we see or can foresee,
    Make your joys many and your sorrows few,
    Bless you in what you bear and what you do,
Yea, perfect you as He would have you be.
So much for you; but what for me, dear friend?
    To love you without stint and all I can
Today, tomorrow, world without an end;
    To love you much and yet to love you more,
    As Jordan at his flood sweeps either shore;
        Since woman is the helpmeet made for man.

    6

Or puoi la quantitate
Comprender de l'amor che a te mi scalda.    (Dante)
Non vo' che da tal nodo mi scioglia.    (Petrarca)

Trust me, I have not earn'd your dear rebuke,
    I love, as you would have me, God the most;
    Would lose not Him, but you, must one be lost,
Nor with Lot's wife cast back a faithless look
Unready to forego what I forsook;
    This say I, having counted up the cost,
    This, though I be the feeblest of God's host,
The sorriest sheep Christ shepherds with His crook.
Yet while I love my God the most, I deem
    That I can never love you overmuch;
        I love Him more, so let me love you too;
    Yea, as I apprehend it, love is such
I cannot love you if I love not Him,
        I cannot love Him if I love not you.

    7

Qui primavera sempre ed ogni frutto.    (Dante)
Ragionando con meco ed io con lui.    (Petrarca)

"Love me, for I love you"--and answer me,
    "Love me, for I love you"--so shall we stand
    As happy equals in the flowering land
Of love, that knows not a dividing sea.
Love builds the house on rock and not on sand,
    Love laughs what while the winds rave desperately;
And who hath found love's citadel unmann'd?
    And who hath held in bonds love's liberty?
My heart's a coward though my words are brave
    We meet so seldom, yet we surely part
    So often; there's a problem for your art!
        Still I find comfort in his Book, who saith,
Though jealousy be cruel as the grave,
    And death be strong, yet love is strong as death.

    8

Come dicesse a Dio: D'altro non calme.    (Dante)
Spero trovar pieta non che perdono.    (Petrarca)

"I, if I perish, perish"--Esther spake:
    And bride of life or death she made her fair
    In all the lustre of her perfum'd hair
And smiles that kindle longing but to slake.
She put on pomp of loveliness, to take
    Her husband through his eyes at unaware;
    She spread abroad her beauty for a snare,
Harmless as doves and subtle as a snake.
She trapp'd him with one mesh of silken hair,
    She vanquish'd him by wisdom of her wit,
        And built her people's house that it should stand:--
        If I might take my life so in my hand,
And for my love to Love put up my prayer,
    And for love's sake by Love be granted it!

    9

O dignitosa coscienza e netta!    (Dante)
Spirto piu acceso di virtuti ardenti.    (Petrarca)

Thinking of you, and all that was, and all
    That might have been and now can never be,
    I feel your honour'd excellence, and see
Myself unworthy of the happier call:
For woe is me who walk so apt to fall,
    So apt to shrink afraid, so apt to flee,
    Apt to lie down and die (ah, woe is me!)
Faithless and hopeless turning to the wall.
And yet not hopeless quite nor faithless quite,
Because not loveless; love may toil all night,
    But take at morning; wrestle till the break
        Of day, but then wield power with God and man:--
        So take I heart of grace as best I can,
    Ready to spend and be spent for your sake.

    10

Con miglior corso e con migliore stella.    (Dante)
La vita fugge e non s'arresta un' ora.    (Petrarca)

Time flies, hope flags, life plies a wearied wing;
    Death following ******* life gains ground apace;
    Faith runs with each and rears an eager face,
Outruns the rest, makes light of everything,
Spurns earth, and still finds breath to pray and sing;
    While love ahead of all uplifts his praise,
    Still asks for grace and still gives thanks for grace,
Content with all day brings and night will bring.
Life wanes; and when love folds his wings above
    Tired hope, and less we feel his conscious pulse,
        Let us go fall asleep, dear friend, in peace:
        A little while, and age and sorrow cease;
    A little while, and life reborn annuls
Loss and decay and death, and all is love.

    11

Vien dietro a me e lascia dir le genti.    (Dante)
Contando i casi della vita nostra.    (Petrarca)

Many in aftertimes will say of you
    "He lov'd her"--while of me what will they say?
    Not that I lov'd you more than just in play,
For fashion's sake as idle women do.
Even let them prate; who know not what we knew
    Of love and parting in exceeding pain,
    Of parting hopeless here to meet again,
Hopeless on earth, and heaven is out of view.
But by my heart of love laid bare to you,
    My love that you can make not void nor vain,
Love that foregoes you but to claim anew
        Beyond this passage of the gate of death,
    I charge you at the Judgment make it plain
        My love of you was life and not a breath.

    12

Amor, che ne la mente mi ragiona.    (Dante)
Amor vien nel bel viso di costei.    (Petrarca)

If there be any one can take my place
    And make you happy whom I grieve to grieve,
    Think not that I can grudge it, but believe
I do commend you to that nobler grace,
That readier wit than mine, that sweeter face;
    Yea, since your riches make me rich, conceive
    I too am crown'd, while bridal crowns I weave,
And thread the bridal dance with jocund pace.
For if I did not love you, it might be
    That I should grudge you some one dear delight;
        But since the heart is yours that was mine own,
    Your pleasure is my pleasure, right my right,
Your honourable freedom makes me free,
    And you companion'd I am not alone.

    13

E drizzeremo gli occhi al Primo Amore.    (Dante)
Ma trovo peso non da le mie braccia.    (Petrarca)

If I could trust mine own self with your fate,
    Shall I not rather trust it in God's hand?
    Without Whose Will one lily doth not stand,
Nor sparrow fall at his appointed date;
    Who numbereth the innumerable sand,
Who weighs the wind and water with a weight,
To Whom the world is neither small nor great,
    Whose knowledge foreknew every plan we plann'd.
Searching my heart for all that touches you,
    I find there only love and love's goodwill
Helpless to help and impotent to do,
        Of understanding dull, of sight most dim;
        And therefore I commend you back to Him
Whose love your love's capacity can fill.

    14

E la Sua Volontade e nostra pace.    (Dante)
Sol con questi pensier, con altre chiome.    (Petrarca)

Youth gone, and beauty gone if ever there
    Dwelt beauty in so poor a face as this;
    Youth gone and beauty, what remains of bliss?
I will not bind fresh roses in my hair,
To shame a cheek at best but little fair,--
    Leave youth his roses, who can bear a thorn,--
I will not seek for blossoms anywhere,
    Except such common flowers as blow with corn.
Youth gone and beauty gone, what doth remain?
    The longing of a heart pent up forlorn,
        A silent heart whose silence loves and longs;
        The silence of a heart which sang its songs
    While youth and beauty made a summer morn,
Silence of love that cannot sing again.

Nel cuor dove ogni visïon s'immilla,
e spazio al cielo ed alla terra avanza,
talor si spenge un desiderio, e brilla
una speranza:
come nel cielo, oceano profondo,
dove ascendendo il pensier nostro annega,
tramonta un'Alfa, e pullula dal fondo
cupo un'Omega.

Maybe
I was like a rose to you
Alluring from a distance
Hence you came after me

These velvety maroon petals
Who wouldn't fall within seconds?
A grab on the beneath stem
At last you felt my hidden thorns

I said to myself
We're all imperfect, after all
For thou shall know what love is
A will to suffer yet to forgive

Si ferma, e già fischia, ed insieme,
tra il ferreo strepito del treno,
si sente una squilla che geme,
là da un paesello sereno,
paesello lungo la via:
Ave Maria...
Un poco, tra l'ansia crescente
della nera vaporiera,
l'addio della sera si sente
seguire come una preghiera,
seguire il treno che s'avvia:
Ave Maria...
E, come se voglia e non voglia,
il treno nel partir vacilla:
quel suono ci chiama alla soglia
e alla lampada che brilla,
nella casa, ch'è una badia:
Ave Maria...
Il padre a quel suono rincasa
facendo un passo ad ogni tocco;
e subito all'uscio di casa
trova il visino del suo cocco,
del più piccino che ci sia...
Ave Maria...
Si chiude, la casa; e s'appanna
d'un tratto il vocerìo che c'è;
si chiude, ristringe, accapanna,
per parlare tra sé e sé;
e saluta la compagnia...
Ave Maria...
O, tinta d'un lieve rossore,
casina che sorridi al sole!
Per noi c'è la notte con l'ore
lunghe lunghe, con l'ore sole,
con l'ore di malinconia...
Ave Maria...
Il treno già vola e ci porta
sbuffando l'alito di fuoco;
e ancora nell'aria più smorta
ci giunge quell'addio più fioco,
dal paese che fugge via:
Ave Maria...
E cessa. Ma uno che vuole
velar gli occhi, pensar lontano,
tra gemiti e strilli e parole,
tra il frastuono or tremolo or piano,
ode il suono che non s'oblia:
Ave Maria...
Con l'uomo che va nella notte,
tra gli aspri urli, i lunghi racconti
del treno che corre per grotte
di monti, sopra lenti ponti,
vien nell'ombrìa la voce pia:
Ave Maria...

"Mater dolcissima, ora scendono le nebbie,
il Naviglio urta confusamente sulle dighe,
gli alberi si gonfiano d'acqua, bruciano di neve;
non sono triste nel Nord: non sono
in pace con me, ma non aspetto
perdono da nessuno, molti mi devono lacrime
da uomo a uomo. So che non stai bene, che vivi
come tutte le madri dei poeti, povera
e giusta nella misura d'amore
per i figli lontani. Oggi sono io
che ti scrivo. " - Finalmente, dirai, due parole
di quel ragazzo che fuggì di notte con un mantello corto
e alcuni versi in tasca. Povero, così pronto di cuore
lo uccideranno un giorno in qualche luogo. -
"Certo, ricordo, fu da quel grigio scalo
di treni lenti che portavano mandorle e arance,
alla foce dell'Imera, il fiume pieno di gazze,
di sale, d'eucalyptus. Ma ora ti ringrazio,
questo voglio, dell'ironia che hai messo
sul mio labbro, mite come la tua.
Quel sorriso m'ha salvato da pianti e da dolori.
E non importa se ora ** qualche lacrima per te,
per tutti quelli che come te aspettano,
e non sanno che cosa. Ah, gentile morte,
non toccare l'orologio in cucina che batte sopra il muro
tutta la mia infanzia è passata sullo smalto
del suo quadrante, su quei fiori dipinti:
non toccare le mani, il cuore dei vecchi.
Ma forse qualcuno risponde? O morte di pietà,
morte di pudore. Addio, cara, addio, mia dolcissima mater."

Her soft Italian accent
Still haunts my dreams.
I did not know she was love.
Love had never called before.
Suddenly all I ever needed
dreamed of or wanted.
was here in my waking world.
She was soft and romantic.
In the half light of sleeping
I would watch over her.
A vigil to my gentle lover.
For her *******
Was as natural as breathing.
She held the promise
of her femininity
In everything she did.
She bore my children.
And gave me romance
until the day she died.
I did not understand
love until she taught me
With her sweetness
and tenderness.
Even in her resting place
The flowers turn towards her
feeling her warmth
even in death.
I do not need for love
to call on me again.
For love has been
and still lives in my heart.
I speak to her softly.
Each night in her native Italian
Addio, amore mio
Farewell my love.

A dead clock, a broken vase
And an old photo torn in pieces
Left untouched for how many decades
Like a desert never been rained

Memories of the thousand past
Gathered like piles of snow outside
So many but so distant
Like the fleeting star in the might

I stood, in the amidst of ruin
Envisaging the once burning ember
He cackling of the blazing fire
And the moving shadows on the wall

You sat there on the bergére
A malt beer on your hand
A Shakespearean book on your lap
And that heart-wrenching look on your aged face

I would like to hold you
But fear told me not
For if I did, I knew you'll disappear
Like a cigarette smoke in the thin air

Then the radio played the Cascades
A song you love so much like I did
And right there I started to hum
As the scene I was seeing blur ripple
A like a stone thrown on waters

The cacophony of the church bell rang
And to the old remnant of that house, I was back
It is snowing yet it doesn't feel cold
I'm not feeling cold

Series of soft footsteps echoed around
Along with muffled cries and quiet whispers
Once again, I saw you looking pale, looking older
And on your hands, a bouquet of white peonies and roses

I want to hold right now and then so I did
Fear finally did not object
But I couldn't feel you, nothing at all
I wish you could

Bells keep ringing on my ears
"Mi dispiace non riesco più a rimanere"
And before the canvas turned white
I said my last goodbye

Addio, addio il mio amore
Questo è crudele, ma Fate era stato buono
May we, once again meet
Not in the future but in another world.

gudarna avgudar oss.

"Eight Geats and twenty-two Norwegians
on an exploration journey from Vinland to the west.
We had camp by two skerries
one day's journey north from this stone.

[We] have ten men by the sea to look after our ships,
fourteen days' travel from this island.  
We were [out] to fish one day.
After we came home [we] found ten men red of blood and dead.“

“save [us] from evil."

A record of the delightful piece
They're going to play this evening

Ladies and gentlemen
Your attention please
And now, the moment we've been waiting for is here
I- I have something to tell you

Que sera, sera
Whatever will be
(Remember) Will be

The birth was like a fat black tongue
Dripping tar and dung and dye
Slowly into my shivering eyes

I might walk upright
But then again
I might still try to die

Never prayed, never paid any attention
Never felt any inflection
Never a lot of thought to life

"Che gelida manina,
se la lasci riscaldar.
Cercar che giova?

Al buio non si trova."

And yet From listening to records
i just knew what to do
I mainly taught myself
And, you know, i did pretty well
Except there were a few mistakes
But um, that i made, uh
That i've just recently cleared up
And i'd like to just continue to be able to express myself
As best as i can with this instrument
And i feel like i have a lot of work to do
Still, i'm a student - of the voice
And i'm also a teacher of the voice too

I believe in the future
I don't believe in miracles

Can it be true?!
It must be true, no doubt!

Life is going on as normally as ever
But suddenly something seems to have happened
Everybody seems to be staring in one direction
People seem to be frightened, even terrified

Some nights it just gets worse than others
Some nights, it just
Gets worse
I feel terrible
But what can we do?
I don't know
It's just, a feeling I've got
Like, something's about to happen
But I don't know what

I want everybody to understand this

"I don't understand"
echoes
"I don't understand"

There're a lot of things we don't understand either

Where do we come from, who are we
And where are we going
Eternal questions never answered

"We need answers from you
What- What did you expect to find?
What is going to be our future?
It- It's your responsibility to do something about it!"

Well, I, uh...
I have the key in my hand
All I have to find is the lock
Now listen to me, all of you!

I fly to the strangest lands

And i would like to able to continue
To let what is inside of me
Which is, which comes from all the music that i hear
I would like for that to come out
And it's like, it's not really me that's coming
The music's coming through me

The music's coming through me

It caught me so that I may never
rest from pwondarement;
I will drink life from the bees.
All tore-ments I have enjoy'd greatly,
have suffer'd greatly,
both with throwse that loved me,
and alone; on tear,
and when thro' thudding rents the cravy Haeades
Vent-teh-din-see. I am become a thought;
For all-ways growming with a hungry deadhead
Much have I heard and throwned—
poprieities of Brads and Janets
And spanners,
prime-hates, clowncils, reed-covernments,
Myself too.
threast, i am tonor'd of them all,--
And drunk delight of rattle with my tyears,
Far on the stinging pains of dramatic irony.
I am a partition of all that I have kept;
Yet all expeerientse is an ark
wherethro' gleams that unpondere'd mind whose margin craves
metaforever
and 'fore ever
when
eyes
groove

To see the wizard!

Wake up, the roughest
In the name of, birds fly
(the light, march)
Reach the wizard
Follow, follow, follow
-by league, birds fly

They move on tracks of never-ending light
Like neon beams
stardust

I see it when I look up at the night sky and I know
that yes we are part of this universe
we are in this universe but perhaps
more importantly than both of those things
is that the universe
is in us

And since we cannot escape mother nature
We attempt to placate it
Modern civilization stems from the simple act
Of placing seeds and plants into the ground
When the plants are ready for harvest
We invest so much time and energy in tending our plants
We must stay around to enjoy the fruits of our labor

we can hear her voice whimper,
as wind through leaves,
while we speak:

Cara bella, cara mia bella!
Mia bambina, o Chell!
Ché la stimo...
Ché la stimo.

O cara mia, addio!
La mia bambina cara,
Perché non passi lontana?
Sì, lontana da natura,
Cara, cara mia bambina?
Ah, mia bella!
Ah, mia cara!
Ah, mia cara!
Ah, mia bambina!
O cara, cara mia...

Mia cara!
Ah, mia cara!
Ah, mia bambina!
O cara, cara mia...

Orville and Wilbur
Cold cut the anchor's from their ankle
Carving propellers from whale fins
In the back of a bicycle shop...
And thus begins the tale
Of the thumb trigger cloud ****
At last the Wright's reinvented the horse with wings
Another invention only fit for a mannequin

And One by one the angels fell
Ode had sent a horrible plague of deaths
Why do you think that Ode would do a thing like that?

Well, You put a veil up when you
Took all your things underground
You covered your own footprints
So no one saw you hide
You heard Ode treading in the
Shadows of the sycamore
You turned to Ode and you said
"I will learn nothing from you"

And so it was that Memories burn
On the black and white horizon
Of your knowledge of
What was never said
you've had enough of the road
That was laid along beside you
Like a lover meant
For another bed
And so you left in the morning
And all that's left behind you
Are the fading frames
That you've got instead

And I tried to keep my distance as
Ode changed The Face again
Ode fakes direction so
I don't see where Ode could go
And in the panic I saw that
They had dropped a “note to self”
I picked it up and it read
"I can't learn anything new"

When you've had too much
And the weight of the expected
Has got you feeling introspective
Can I give you the perspective that you need?

Remember that language is power.

"I will, I will. I'll remember that"

Thank you, I'll say goodbye soon
Though its the end of the word
Don't blame yourself now
And if its true
I will surround you and give life to a word
That's our own

Order of the day to come
Thus the end, the ends
Darkest hour, obsidian
Cast of stone, the Night
With a slight of who not harmed
Hit or touched
What will be, the end
How come the rising sun
Matches still
In to gold, it holds
Comes the dawn, golden dawn
Darkness turn to day

I'll take you to the place where you
Come down and just react
To what you're about to see

Early time machine's
Will have tended to leave you
Left screaming
On a dinosaur's dish
In da Vinci's "Bike Accident'
An outerspace whodunit?
Monkeys play Magellan
As the next ex-Edison
Standing out in the crowd with a unicycle

Physics of a unicycle...
Twice the remarkable
Um, did a little little, um, did a lot
Someone's splitting atoms under flag barbed wire
Up in the sky where the war planes fly
Dead in the clouds, hear the God's cold lie
Um, did a little little, um, did a lot

You've had enough
Too much
And all you have collected
Is heavy with the taste
Of ambition misdirected
Bitter 'bout the pace that you keep

Well Good Ode almighty, all that other *******
Is here today and going tomorrow

'Tis better to have loved and lost,
than never to have loved at all!
Come cheer up, my lad

'el Da'
Qb'a'
Oh-kie
YIjah, Qey' 'oH
YIjah, Qey' 'oH

And When I have plucked the rose above
Whatever will be,
will be below

Le mani con un tremito
del telefono stringevano il filo;
mi aveva poco prima
recato la tua voce
che mi diceva addio.

Un vagante raggio ebbe la luce,
tenue filo dell'anima
del mio bacio donato
solo dal desiderio.

Ma dall'esilio ci libererà
l'ostinato mio amore.

Her soft Italian accent
Still haunts my dreams.
I did not know she was love.
Love had never called on me before.
Suddenly all I ever needed or
dreamed of and wanted.
was here in my waking world.

She was soft and romantic.
In the half-light of sleeping
I would watch over her.
A vigil to my sweet gentle lover.
For her *******
was natural as breathing.
She held the promise
of all her femininity
In everything she did.

She bore my children.
And gave me romance
until the day she died.
I did not understand
love until she taught it to me
with her sweetness
and tenderness.

Even in her resting place
The flowers turn towards her
feeling her warmth
even in death.

I do not need for love
to call on me again.
For love has been
and still lives in my heart.

I speak to her softly.
Each night in her native Italian
Addio, amore mi.
Farewell my love.

Nel cuor dove ogni visïon s'immilla,
e spazio al cielo ed alla terra avanza,
talor si spenge un desiderio, e brilla
una speranza:
come nel cielo, oceano profondo,
dove ascendendo il pensier nostro annega,
tramonta un'Alfa, e pullula dal fondo
cupo un'Omega.

Si ferma, e già fischia, ed insieme,
tra il ferreo strepito del treno,
si sente una squilla che geme,
là da un paesello sereno,
paesello lungo la via:
Ave Maria...
Un poco, tra l'ansia crescente
della nera vaporiera,
l'addio della sera si sente
seguire come una preghiera,
seguire il treno che s'avvia:
Ave Maria...
E, come se voglia e non voglia,
il treno nel partir vacilla:
quel suono ci chiama alla soglia
e alla lampada che brilla,
nella casa, ch'è una badia:
Ave Maria...
Il padre a quel suono rincasa
facendo un passo ad ogni tocco;
e subito all'uscio di casa
trova il visino del suo cocco,
del più piccino che ci sia...
Ave Maria...
Si chiude, la casa; e s'appanna
d'un tratto il vocerìo che c'è;
si chiude, ristringe, accapanna,
per parlare tra sé e sé;
e saluta la compagnia...
Ave Maria...
O, tinta d'un lieve rossore,
casina che sorridi al sole!
Per noi c'è la notte con l'ore
lunghe lunghe, con l'ore sole,
con l'ore di malinconia...
Ave Maria...
Il treno già vola e ci porta
sbuffando l'alito di fuoco;
e ancora nell'aria più smorta
ci giunge quell'addio più fioco,
dal paese che fugge via:
Ave Maria...
E cessa. Ma uno che vuole
velar gli occhi, pensar lontano,
tra gemiti e strilli e parole,
tra il frastuono or tremolo or piano,
ode il suono che non s'oblia:
Ave Maria...
Con l'uomo che va nella notte,
tra gli aspri urli, i lunghi racconti
del treno che corre per grotte
di monti, sopra lenti ponti,
vien nell'ombrìa la voce pia:
Ave Maria...

Dagli atrii muscosi, dai fori cadenti,
Dai boschi, dall'**** fucine stridenti,
Dai solchi bagnati di servo sudor,
Un volgo disperso repente si desta;
Intende l'orecchio, solleva la testa
Percosso da novo crescente romor.
Dai guardi dubbiosi, dai pavidi volti,
Qual raggio di sole da nuvoli folti,
Traluce de' padri la fiera virtù:
Ne' guardi, ne' volti, confuso ed incerto
Si mesce e discorda lo spregio sofferto
Col misero orgoglio d'un tempo che fu.
S'aduna voglioso, si sperde tremante,
Per torti sentieri, con passo vagante,
Fra tema e desire, s'avanza e ristà;
E adocchia e rimira scorata e confusa
De' crudi signori la turba diffusa,
Che fugge dai brandi, che sosta non ha.
Ansanti li vede, quai trepide fere,
Irsuti per tema le fulve criniere,
Le note latebre del covo cercar;
E quivi, deposta l'usata minaccia,
Le donne superbe, con pallida faccia,
I figli pensosi pensose guatar.
E sopra i fuggenti, con avido brando,
Quai cani disciolti, correndo, frugando,
Da ritta, da manca, guerrieri venir:
Li vede, e rapito d'ignoto contento,
Con l'agile speme precorre l'evento,
E sogna la fine del duro servir.
Udite! Quei forti che tengono il campo,
Che ai vostri tiranni precludon lo scampo,
Son giunti da lunge, per aspri sentier:
Sospeser le gioie dei prandi festosi,
Assursero in fretta dai blandi riposi,
Chiamati repente da squillo guerrier.
Lasciar nelle sale del tetto natio
Le donne accorate, tornanti all'addio,
A preghi e consigli che il pianto troncò:
Han carca la fronte de' pesti cimieri,
Han poste le selle sui bruni corsieri,
Volaron sul ponte che cupo sonò.
A torme, di terra passarono in terra,
Cantando giulive canzoni di guerra,
Ma i dolci castelli pensando nel cor:
Per valli petrose, per balzi dirotti,
Vegliaron nell'arme le gelide notti,
Membrando i fidati colloqui d'amor.
Gli oscuri perigli di stanze incresciose,
Per greppi senz'orma le corse affannose,
Il rigido impero, le fami durâr;
Si vider le lance calate sui petti,
A canto agli scudi, rasente agli elmetti,
Udiron le frecce fischiando volar.
E il premio sperato, promesso a quei forti,
Sarebbe, o delusi, rivolger le sorti,
D'un volgo straniero por fine al dolor?
Tornate alle vostre superbe ruine,
All'opere imbelli dell'**** officine,
Ai solchi bagnati di servo sudor.
Il forte si mesce col vinto nemico,
Col novo signore rimane l'antico;
L'un popolo e l'altro sul collo vi sta.
Dividono i servi, dividon gli armenti;
Si posano insieme sui campi cruenti
D'un volgo disperso che nome non ha.

Nel cuor dove ogni visïon s'immilla,
e spazio al cielo ed alla terra avanza,
talor si spenge un desiderio, e brilla
una speranza:
come nel cielo, oceano profondo,
dove ascendendo il pensier nostro annega,
tramonta un'Alfa, e pullula dal fondo
cupo un'Omega.

Si ferma, e già fischia, ed insieme,
tra il ferreo strepito del treno,
si sente una squilla che geme,
là da un paesello sereno,
paesello lungo la via:
Ave Maria...
Un poco, tra l'ansia crescente
della nera vaporiera,
l'addio della sera si sente
seguire come una preghiera,
seguire il treno che s'avvia:
Ave Maria...
E, come se voglia e non voglia,
il treno nel partir vacilla:
quel suono ci chiama alla soglia
e alla lampada che brilla,
nella casa, ch'è una badia:
Ave Maria...
Il padre a quel suono rincasa
facendo un passo ad ogni tocco;
e subito all'uscio di casa
trova il visino del suo cocco,
del più piccino che ci sia...
Ave Maria...
Si chiude, la casa; e s'appanna
d'un tratto il vocerìo che c'è;
si chiude, ristringe, accapanna,
per parlare tra sé e sé;
e saluta la compagnia...
Ave Maria...
O, tinta d'un lieve rossore,
casina che sorridi al sole!
Per noi c'è la notte con l'ore
lunghe lunghe, con l'ore sole,
con l'ore di malinconia...
Ave Maria...
Il treno già vola e ci porta
sbuffando l'alito di fuoco;
e ancora nell'aria più smorta
ci giunge quell'addio più fioco,
dal paese che fugge via:
Ave Maria...
E cessa. Ma uno che vuole
velar gli occhi, pensar lontano,
tra gemiti e strilli e parole,
tra il frastuono or tremolo or piano,
ode il suono che non s'oblia:
Ave Maria...
Con l'uomo che va nella notte,
tra gli aspri urli, i lunghi racconti
del treno che corre per grotte
di monti, sopra lenti ponti,
vien nell'ombrìa la voce pia:
Ave Maria...

Our love was nothing
more than faded letters
kept in a drawer,
eating dust to survive.
We pretended it died
out of famine
as we discreetly moved on
free of guilt.


But...


I still have the scars
hidden under my sleeves;
begging for attention,
like a kid in the aisle
of a candy store,
eyeing a bottle of gummy bears
and a pack of Reeses.


What is there to miss?


I don't even know
the curve of your smile
when you said a cryptic 'hi'
almost a month ago.
When you pulled me close-
but not too close
because you were afraid of love
more than losing it.


Our hands
weren't made
to touch;
a curve and an asymptote
always r e a c h i n g,
a depressed biology
of 'crown shyness'
moving from trees
to human fingertips.


And so i
planned to leave...


only to see
your addio note
and spare keys
sitting comfortably
on the breakfast table,
having a pep talk
with a cup of cold coffee
and a stale egg omelette.


You won
in our race
to goodbye.

Le mani con un tremito
del telefono stringevano il filo;
mi aveva poco prima
recato la tua voce
che mi diceva addio.

Un vagante raggio ebbe la luce,
tenue filo dell'anima
del mio bacio donato
solo dal desiderio.

Ma dall'esilio ci libererà
l'ostinato mio amore.

Le mani con un tremito
del telefono stringevano il filo;
mi aveva poco prima
recato la tua voce
che mi diceva addio.

Un vagante raggio ebbe la luce,
tenue filo dell'anima
del mio bacio donato
solo dal desiderio.

Ma dall'esilio ci libererà
l'ostinato mio amore.