Spoon River Anthology — Page 12

English → It Full Text Level 4/10

And the Black-eyed cocotte took the tears for hers,

E la cocotte dagli occhi neri prese le lacrime per sue,

As well as the deceiving kisses I gave her.

Così come i baci ingannevoli che le diedi.

Somehow, from that hour, I had a new vision

In qualche modo, da quell'ora, ebbi una nuova visione

Dear Emily Sparks!

Cara Emily Sparks!

Emily Sparks

Where is my boy, my boy

Dov'è il mio ragazzo, il mio ragazzo

In what far part of the world?

In quale lontana parte del mondo?

The boy I loved best of all in the school?—

Il ragazzo che amavo più di tutti a scuola?—

I, the teacher, the old maid, the virgin heart,

Io, la maestra, la zitella, il cuore vergine,

Who made them all my children.

Che li fece tutti miei figli.

Did I know my boy aright,

Ho conosciuto davvero il mio ragazzo,

Thinking of him as a spirit aflame,

Pensandolo come uno spirito in fiamme,

Active, ever aspiring?

Attivo, sempre ambizioso?

Oh, boy, boy, for whom I prayed and prayed

Oh, ragazzo, ragazzo, per cui ho pregato e pregato

In many a watchful hour at night,

In molte ore di veglia notturna,

Do you remember the letter I wrote you

Ricordi la lettera che ti scrissi

Of the beautiful love of Christ?

Del bellissimo amore di Cristo?

And whether you ever took it or not,

E che tu l'abbia mai accolta o no,

My, boy, wherever you are,

Ragazzo mio, ovunque tu sia,

Work for your soul's sake,

Lavora per il bene della tua anima,

That all the clay of you, all of the dross of you,

Affinché tutta la creta che è in te, tutta la scoria che è in te,

May yield to the fire of you,

Possa cedere al fuoco che è in te,

Till the fire is nothing but light!…

Finché il fuoco non sia altro che luce!…

Nothing but light!

Nient'altro che luce!

Trainor, the Druggist

Trainor, il farmacista

Only the chemist can tell, and not always the chemist,

Solo il chimico può dirlo, e non sempre il chimico,

What will result from compounding

Cosa risulterà dalla combinazione

Fluids or solids.

Di fluidi o solidi.

And who can tell

E chi può dire

How men and women will interact

Come uomini e donne interagiranno

On each other, or what children will result?

L'uno sull'altro, o quali figli ne risulteranno?

There were Benjamin Pantier and his wife,

C'erano Benjamin Pantier e sua moglie,

Good in themselves, but evil toward each other;

Buoni in sé stessi, ma dannosi l'uno verso l'altro;

He oxygen, she hydrogen,

Lui ossigeno, lei idrogeno,

Their son, a devastating fire.

Il loro figlio, un fuoco devastante.

I Trainor, the druggist, a miser of chemicals,

Io Trainor, il farmacista, un avaro di sostanze chimiche,

Killed while making an experiment,

Morto mentre facevo un esperimento,

Lived unwedded.

Vissi senza sposarmi.

Vocabulary

E: Conjunction meaning 'and'.
la: Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her'.
dagli: Contraction of 'da' and 'gli', meaning 'from the' (masculine plural).
occhi: Eyes, the organs of sight.
neri: Black or dark, plural adjective.
prese: Past tense of 'prendere', meaning 'took' or 'seized'.
le: Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her/them'.
lacrime: Tears, drops of liquid from crying.
per: Preposition meaning 'for', 'through', or 'by'.
sue: Possessive pronoun meaning 'her' or 'his' (plural).
Così: Adverb meaning 'so', 'thus', or 'in this way'.
come: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as', 'like', or 'how'.
i: Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine plural).
baci: Kisses, plural of 'bacio'.
ingannevoli: Deceitful, misleading, or deceptive (plural adjective).
che: Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that', 'which', or 'who'.
diedi: Past tense of 'dare', meaning 'I gave'.
In: Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'.
qualche: Adjective meaning 'some' or 'a few'.
modo: Noun meaning 'way', 'manner', or 'method'.
da: Preposition meaning 'from', 'since', or 'by'.
quell': Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' (elided form).
ora: Noun meaning 'hour' or 'time'; also 'now'.
ebbi: Past tense of 'avere', meaning 'I had'.
una: Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (feminine).
nuova: Adjective meaning 'new' (feminine singular).
visione: Noun meaning 'vision', 'sight', or 'revelation'.
Cara: Adjective meaning 'dear' or 'beloved' (feminine).
Dov': Elided form of 'dove', meaning 'where'.
è: Third person singular of 'essere', meaning 'is'.
il: Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular).
mio: Possessive adjective meaning 'my' (masculine singular).
ragazzo: Noun meaning 'boy', 'young man', or 'boyfriend'.
quale: Pronoun or adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'.
lontana: Adjective meaning 'far', 'distant', or 'remote' (feminine).
parte: Noun meaning 'part', 'side', or 'region'.
del: Contraction of 'di' and 'il', meaning 'of the'.
mondo: Noun meaning 'world'.
amavo: Imperfect tense of 'amare', meaning 'I loved' or 'I used to love'.
più: Adverb meaning 'more' or 'most'.
di: Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'than'.
tutti: Pronoun or adjective meaning 'all', 'everyone' (masculine plural).
a: Preposition meaning 'at', 'to', or 'in'.
scuola: Noun meaning 'school'.
Io: First person singular pronoun meaning 'I'.
maestra: Noun meaning 'teacher' or 'schoolmistress' (feminine).
zitella: Noun meaning 'spinster' or 'old maid'.
cuore: Noun meaning 'heart'.
vergine: Noun or adjective meaning 'virgin' or 'pure'.
li: Object pronoun meaning 'them' (masculine plural).
fece: Past tense of 'fare', meaning 'made' or 'did'.
miei: Possessive adjective meaning 'my' (masculine plural).
figli: Noun meaning 'children' or 'sons' (plural).
Ho: First person singular of 'avere', meaning 'I have'.
conosciuto: Past participle of 'conoscere', meaning 'known' or 'met'.
davvero: Adverb meaning 'really', 'truly', or 'indeed'.
uno: Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one' (masculine).
spirito: Noun meaning 'spirit', 'soul', or 'ghost'.
in: Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'.
fiamme: Noun meaning 'flames' (plural of 'fiamma').
Attivo: Adjective meaning 'active', 'energetic', or 'busy'.
sempre: Adverb meaning 'always' or 'ever'.
ambizioso: Adjective meaning 'ambitious' or 'aspiring'.
cui: Relative pronoun meaning 'whom', 'which', or 'whose'.
ho: First person singular of 'avere', meaning 'I have'.
pregato: Past participle of 'pregare', meaning 'prayed' or 'begged'.
e: Conjunction meaning 'and'.
molte: Adjective meaning 'many' or 'a lot of' (feminine plural).
ore: Noun meaning 'hours' (plural of 'ora').
veglia: Noun meaning 'vigil', 'wakefulness', or 'watch'.
notturna: Adjective meaning 'nocturnal' or 'nightly' (feminine).
Ricordi: Noun meaning 'memories'; also second person singular of 'ricordare'.
lettera: Noun meaning 'letter' (written correspondence).
ti: Second person singular object pronoun meaning 'you' or 'to you'.
scrissi: Past tense of 'scrivere', meaning 'I wrote'.
Del: Contraction of 'di' and 'il', meaning 'of the'.
bellissimo: Superlative adjective meaning 'most beautiful' or 'very beautiful'.
amore: Noun meaning 'love'.
tu: Second person singular pronoun meaning 'you'.
l': Elided definite article or pronoun meaning 'the', 'it', 'him', or 'her'.
abbia: Subjunctive of 'avere', meaning 'has' or 'may have'.
mai: Adverb meaning 'ever' or 'never'.
accolta: Past participle of 'accogliere', meaning 'received' or 'welcomed'.
o: Conjunction meaning 'or'.
no: Negative particle meaning 'no' or 'not'.
Ragazzo: Noun meaning 'boy', 'young man', or 'boyfriend'.
ovunque: Adverb meaning 'wherever' or 'everywhere'.
sia: Subjunctive of 'essere', meaning 'be' or 'may be'.
Lavora: Third person singular imperative of 'lavorare', meaning 'work'.
bene: Adverb meaning 'well' or 'good'.
della: Contraction of 'di' and 'la', meaning 'of the' (feminine).
tua: Possessive adjective meaning 'your' (feminine singular).
anima: Noun meaning 'soul' or 'spirit'.
Affinché: Conjunction meaning 'so that' or 'in order that'.
tutta: Adjective meaning 'all' or 'entire' (feminine singular).
creta: Noun meaning 'clay' or 'earth'.
te: Stressed second person pronoun meaning 'you'.
Possa: Subjunctive of 'potere', meaning 'may be able to' or 'can'.
cedere: Verb meaning 'to yield', 'to give way', or 'to surrender'.
al: Contraction of 'a' and 'il', meaning 'to the' or 'at the'.
fuoco: Noun meaning 'fire' or 'flame'.
Finché: Conjunction meaning 'until' or 'as long as'.
non: Negative adverb meaning 'not'.
altro: Pronoun or adjective meaning 'other', 'else', or 'another'.
luce: Noun meaning 'light'.
Nient': Elided form of 'niente', meaning 'nothing'.
farmacista: Noun meaning 'pharmacist' or 'druggist'.
Solo: Adjective or adverb meaning 'alone', 'only', or 'just'.
chimico: Noun or adjective meaning 'chemist' or 'chemical'.
può: Third person singular of 'potere', meaning 'can' or 'is able to'.
dirlo: Infinitive with pronoun meaning 'to say it' or 'to tell it'.
Cosa: Pronoun meaning 'what' or noun meaning 'thing'.
risulterà: Future tense of 'risultare', meaning 'will result' or 'will turn out'.
dalla: Contraction of 'da' and 'la', meaning 'from the' (feminine).
combinazione: Noun meaning 'combination' or 'mixture'.
Di: Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'about'.
fluidi: Noun meaning 'fluids' or adjective 'fluid' (plural).
solidi: Noun meaning 'solids' or adjective 'solid' (plural).
chi: Pronoun meaning 'who', 'whoever', or 'the one who'.
dire: Infinitive meaning 'to say' or 'to tell'.
Come: Conjunction or adverb meaning 'how', 'as', or 'like'.
uomini: Noun meaning 'men' (plural of 'uomo').
donne: Noun meaning 'women' (plural of 'donna').
interagiranno: Future tense of 'interagire', meaning 'will interact'.
sull': Contraction of 'su' and 'l'', meaning 'on the' (elided).
quali: Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'who' (plural).
ne: Pronoun meaning 'of it', 'of them', or 'from there'.
risulteranno: Future tense plural of 'risultare', meaning 'will result'.
C': Elided form of 'ci', used in 'c'era/c'erano', meaning 'there was/were'.
erano: Imperfect plural of 'essere', meaning 'were'.
sua: Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its' (feminine).
moglie: Noun meaning 'wife'.
Buoni: Adjective meaning 'good' (masculine plural).
sé: Reflexive pronoun meaning 'themselves' or 'oneself'.
stessi: Adjective meaning 'themselves' or 'same' (plural).
ma: Conjunction meaning 'but'.
dannosi: Adjective meaning 'harmful', 'damaging', or 'detrimental' (plural).
verso: Preposition meaning 'towards' or noun meaning 'verse'.
Lui: Third person singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'him'.
ossigeno: Noun meaning 'oxygen'.
lei: Third person singular pronoun meaning 'she' or 'her'.
idrogeno: Noun meaning 'hydrogen'.
loro: Third person plural pronoun meaning 'they', 'them', or 'their'.
figlio: Noun meaning 'son' or 'child'.
un: Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (masculine).
devastante: Adjective meaning 'devastating' or 'destructive'.
avaro: Adjective or noun meaning 'miserly', 'greedy', or 'miser'.
sostanze: Noun meaning 'substances' or 'materials' (plural).
chimiche: Adjective meaning 'chemical' (feminine plural).
Morto: Adjective or noun meaning 'dead' or 'deceased'.
mentre: Conjunction meaning 'while' or 'whereas'.
facevo: Imperfect of 'fare', meaning 'I was doing' or 'I used to do'.
esperimento: Noun meaning 'experiment' or 'test'.
Vissi: Past tense of 'vivere', meaning 'I lived'.
senza: Preposition meaning 'without'.
sposarmi: Reflexive infinitive meaning 'to marry' or 'to get married' (first person).

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