Non trovi più niente

Nico Orengo

 

 

Capitan del gran valore,

volta la carta e trovi:

un bel fiore,

un bel fiore che sta in giardino;

volta la carta e trovi:

un canarino,

un canarino che porta un cartello;

volta la carta e trovi:

un uccello,

un uccello che becca il grano;

volta la carta e trovi:

un villano,

un villano che zappa la terra;

volta la carta e trovi:

una guerra,

una guerra con tanti soldati;

volta la carta e trovi:

i malati,

i malati che stanno nei letti;

volta al carta e trovi:

i confetti,

i confetti che son così buoni;

volta la carta e trovi:

i ladroni,

i ladroni che assaltan la gente;

volta la carta e

non trovi più niente.

There will be nothing left

Nico Orengo

 

 

Captain of great fortune,

turn the page and find:

a lovely blossom,

a lovely blossom that’s in the garden;

turn the page and find:

a wren,

a wren that’s carrying a placard;

turn the page and find:

a bird,

a bird that’s pecking the grain;

turn the page and find:

a farmhand,

a farmhand that’s ploughing the soil:

turn the page and find:

a battle,

a battle with soldiers, a battalion;

turn the page and find:

the bedridden,

the bedridden that are lying in cots;

turn the page and find:

the desserts,

the desserts that are delectable;

turn the page and find:

the criminals,

the criminals that cheat and molest;

turn the page and

there will be nothing left.

 

 

 

Translation ©Matilda Colarossi 2020

 

Some poems take the world around you and toss it into your face; and, like a slap, it calls your attention to those things you would rather not see…but which you must see before there is nothing left.

 Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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