Spoon River Anthology — Page 14
Their spirits looked upon my torture;
I loro spiriti osservarono la mia tortura;
They drank it as it were the water of life;
La bevvero come se fosse l'acqua della vita;
With reddened cheeks, brightened eyes,
Con guance arrossate, occhi illuminati,
The rising flame of my soul made their spirits gilt,
La fiamma crescente della mia anima dorava i loro spiriti,
Like the wings of a butterfly drifting suddenly into sunlight.
Come le ali di una farfalla che vola all'improvviso nella luce del sole.
And they cried to me for life, life, life.
E mi imploravano vita, vita, vita.
But in taking life for myself,
Ma nel prendere la vita per me stesso,
In seizing and crushing their souls,
Nell'afferrare e schiacciare le loro anime,
As a child crushes grapes and drinks
Come un bambino schiaccia l'uva e beve
From its palms the purple juice,
Dai suoi palmi il succo purpureo,
I came to this wingless void,
Giunsi a questo vuoto senza ali,
Where neither red, nor gold, nor wine,
Dove né il rosso, né l'oro, né il vino,
Nor the rhythm of life are known.
Né il ritmo della vita sono conosciuti.
Minerva Jones
Minerva Jones
I am Minerva, the village poetess,
Sono Minerva, la poetessa del villaggio,
Hooted at, jeered at by the Yahoos of the street
Derisa, sbeffeggiata dagli zoticoni della strada
For my heavy body, cock-eye, and rolling walk,
Per il mio corpo pesante, l'occhio storto e l'andatura ondeggiante,
And all the more when "Butch" Weldy
E ancor di più quando "Butch" Weldy
Captured me after a brutal hunt.
Mi catturò dopo una brutale caccia.
He left me to my fate with Doctor Meyers;
Mi abbandonò al mio destino con il Dottor Meyers;
And I sank into death, growing numb from the feet up,
E sprofondai nella morte, intorpidendomi dai piedi in su,
Like one stepping deeper and deeper into a stream of ice.
Come chi si addentra sempre più in un torrente di ghiaccio.
Will some one go to the village newspaper,
Qualcuno vorrà andare al giornale del villaggio,
And gather into a book the verses I wrote?—
E raccogliere in un libro i versi che ho scritto?—
I thirsted so for love
Avevo tanta sete d'amore
I hungered so for life!
Avevo tanta fame di vita!
"Indignation" Jones
"Indignazione" Jones
You would not believe, would you
Non credereste, vero,
That I came from good Welsh stock?
Che provenissi da una buona stirpe gallese?
That I was purer blooded than the white trash here?
Che avessi sangue più puro della feccia bianca di qui?
And of more direct lineage than the
E di lignaggio più diretto dei
New Englanders And Virginians of Spoon River?
Newyorkesi e Virginiani di Spoon River?
You would not believe that I had been to school
Non credereste che fossi andato a scuola
And read some books.
E avessi letto qualche libro.
Vocabulary
- I
- i — The letter I; also plural masculine definite article
- loro
- loro — They, them, or their
- spiriti
- spìriti — Spirits, souls, or supernatural beings
- osservarono
- osservàrono — They observed or watched attentively
- la
- la — The; feminine singular definite article
- mia
- mìa — My; feminine singular possessive adjective
- tortura
- tortùra — Torture; the act of inflicting severe pain
- La
- la — The; feminine singular definite article
- bevvero
- bèvvero — They drank; past tense of bere
- come
- còme — As, like, or how
- se
- se — If or as if; conditional conjunction
- fosse
- fòsse — Were; imperfect subjunctive of essere
- l'
- l' — The; elided definite article before a vowel
- acqua
- àcqua — Water; the common liquid substance
- della
- dèlla — Of the; feminine singular preposition plus article
- vita
- vìta — Life; the state of being alive
- Con
- con — With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- guance
- guànce — Cheeks; the sides of the face
- arrossate
- arrossàte — Reddened or flushed, as cheeks
- occhi
- òcchi — Eyes; the organs of sight
- illuminati
- illuminàti — Illuminated, lit up, or enlightened
- fiamma
- fiàmma — Flame; burning light or fire
- crescente
- crescènte — Growing, increasing, or rising
- anima
- ànima — Soul; the spiritual part of a person
- dorava
- doràva — Was gilding or turning golden
- i
- i — The; masculine plural definite article
- Come
- còme — Like, as; comparative conjunction
- le
- le — The; feminine plural definite article
- ali
- àli — Wings; appendages used for flying
- di
- di — Of; preposition indicating possession or origin
- una
- ùna — A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- farfalla
- farfàlla — Butterfly; colorful winged insect
- che
- che — That, which, who; relative pronoun or conjunction
- vola
- vòla — Flies; third person singular of volare
- all'
- all' — To the; preposition plus elided article
- improvviso
- improvvìso — Sudden; unexpected or without warning
- nella
- nèlla — In the; feminine singular preposition plus article
- luce
- lùce — Light; illumination or radiance
- del
- del — Of the; masculine singular preposition plus article
- sole
- sòle — Sun; the star at the center of the solar system
- E
- e — And; basic coordinating conjunction
- mi
- mi — Me; first person singular object pronoun
- imploravano
- imploràvano — They were imploring or begging urgently
- Ma
- ma — But; adversative coordinating conjunction
- nel
- nel — In the; masculine singular preposition plus article
- prendere
- prèndere — To take or to grab something
- per
- per — For, through, by; multipurpose preposition
- me
- me — Me; first person singular stressed pronoun
- stesso
- stèsso — Myself, same; intensive or reflexive pronoun
- Nell'
- nell' — In the; preposition plus elided article
- afferrare
- afferrare — To seize, grab, or grasp firmly
- e
- e — And; basic coordinating conjunction
- schiacciare
- schiacciàre — To crush, squeeze, or press flat
- anime
- ànime — Souls; plural of anima
- un
- un — A, an; masculine singular indefinite article
- bambino
- bambìno — Child, baby boy; a young male child
- schiaccia
- schiàccia — Crushes or squeezes; third person singular
- uva
- ùva — Grapes; fruit used for wine or eating
- beve
- bève — Drinks; third person singular of bere
- Dai
- dai — From the; masculine plural preposition plus article
- suoi
- suòi — His, her, its; masculine plural possessive
- palmi
- pàlmi — Palms; inner surfaces of the hands
- succo
- sùcco — Juice; liquid extracted from fruit
- purpureo
- purpùreo — Purple, crimson; deep reddish-purple in color
- Giunsi
- giùnsi — I arrived or reached; past tense of giungere
- a
- a — To, at; basic Italian preposition
- questo
- quèsto — This; masculine singular demonstrative pronoun
- vuoto
- vuòto — Emptiness, void; a state of nothingness
- senza
- sènza — Without; preposition indicating absence
- Dove
- dòve — Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- né
- né — Nor, neither; negative coordinating conjunction
- rosso
- rósso — Red; the color red
- oro
- òro — Gold; precious yellow metal
- vino
- vìno — Wine; alcoholic drink made from grapes
- Né
- né — Nor; negative coordinating conjunction
- ritmo
- rìtmo — Rhythm; regular pattern of beats or sounds
- sono
- sòno — Are; first or third person plural of essere
- conosciuti
- conosciùti — Known; past participle of conoscere
- Sono
- sòno — I am; first person singular of essere
- poetessa
- poetèssa — Poetess; a female poet or writer of verse
- villaggio
- villàggio — Village; a small rural community or settlement
- Derisa
- derìsa — Mocked, ridiculed; past participle of deridere
- sbeffeggiata
- sbeffeggiàta — Jeered at, made fun of cruelly
- dagli
- dàgli — By the; masculine plural preposition plus article
- zoticoni
- zoticòni — Boors, louts; rude and uncultured people
- strada
- stràda — Street, road; a path for travel
- Per
- per — Because of, for; multipurpose preposition
- mio
- mìo — My; masculine singular possessive adjective
- corpo
- còrpo — Body; the physical structure of a person
- pesante
- pesànte — Heavy; having great weight or mass
- occhio
- òcchio — Eye; the organ of sight
- storto
- stòrto — Crooked, twisted; not straight or aligned
- andatura
- andatùra — Gait, walk; the manner of walking
- ondeggiante
- ondeggiànte — Swaying, undulating; moving like waves
- ancor
- ancòr — Still, yet; temporal adverb, short form
- più
- più — More; comparative adverb of quantity
- quando
- quàndo — When; temporal conjunction or adverb
- Mi
- mi — Me; first person singular object pronoun
- catturò
- catturò — Captured, caught; past tense of catturare
- dopo
- dòpo — After, following; preposition or adverb of time
- brutale
- brutàle — Brutal, savage; extremely cruel or violent
- caccia
- càccia — Hunt, chase; pursuit of prey or a person
- abbandonò
- abbandonò — Abandoned, left behind; past tense of abbandonare
- al
- al — To the; masculine singular preposition plus article
- destino
- destìno — Fate, destiny; predetermined course of events
- con
- con — With; preposition indicating accompaniment
- Dottor
- Dottor — Doctor; title for a medical professional
- sprofondai
- sprofondài — I sank down deeply; past tense of sprofondare
- morte
- mòrte — Death; the end of life
- intorpidendomi
- intorpidèndomi — Numbing myself; becoming progressively numb
- dai
- dai — From the; masculine plural preposition plus article
- piedi
- pièdi — Feet; the lower extremities of the body
- in
- in — In, into; basic preposition of location
- su
- su — Up, on; preposition or adverb of direction
- chi
- chi — Who, whoever; relative or interrogative pronoun
- si
- si — Oneself; reflexive pronoun third person
- addentra
- addèntra — Ventures into, penetrates deeper; enters deeply
- sempre
- sèmpre — Always, ever; adverb of frequency
- torrente
- torrènte — Torrent, rushing stream; fast-flowing water
- ghiaccio
- ghiàccio — Ice; frozen water
- Qualcuno
- qualcùno — Someone, anybody; indefinite pronoun
- vorrà
- vorrà — Will want; future tense of volere
- andare
- andàre — To go; basic verb of movement
- giornale
- giornàle — Newspaper; a daily printed publication
- raccogliere
- raccògliere — To collect, gather, or pick up
- libro
- lìbro — Book; a written or printed literary work
- versi
- vèrsi — Verses; lines of poetry
- ho
- ho — I have; first person singular of avere
- scritto
- scrìtto — Written; past participle of scrivere
- Avevo
- avèvo — I had; imperfect tense of avere
- tanta
- tànta — So much, a lot of; feminine singular adjective
- sete
- sète — Thirst; the desire or need to drink
- d'
- d' — Of; elided preposition before a vowel
- amore
- amòre — Love; deep affection for someone
- fame
- fàme — Hunger; the need or desire for food
- Indignazione
- indignazióne — Indignation; anger caused by perceived injustice
- Non
- non — Not; basic negation adverb
- credereste
- crederèste — You would believe; conditional of credere
- vero
- vèro — True, real; adjective meaning truthful
- Che
- che — That; subordinating conjunction introducing clause
- provenissi
- provenìssi — I came from; imperfect subjunctive of provenire
- da
- da — From, by; preposition of origin or agent
- buona
- buòna — Good; feminine singular adjective
- stirpe
- stìrpe — Lineage, stock; ancestral line or descent
- gallese
- gallèse — Welsh; relating to Wales or its people
- avessi
- avèssi — I had; imperfect subjunctive of avere
- sangue
- sàngue — Blood; the red fluid in the body
- puro
- pùro — Pure, clean; unmixed or unadulterated
- feccia
- fèccia — Dregs, scum; the lowest social elements
- bianca
- biànca — White; feminine singular color adjective
- qui
- qui — Here; adverb indicating this place
- lignaggio
- lignàggio — Lineage, ancestry; family line of descent
- diretto
- dirètto — Direct, straight; without intermediary
- dei
- dei — Of the; masculine plural preposition plus article
- fossi
- fòssi — I were; imperfect subjunctive of essere
- andato
- andàto — Gone; past participle of andare
- scuola
- scuòla — School; an institution for learning
- letto
- lètto — Read; past participle of leggere; also bed
- qualche
- quàlche — Some, a few; indefinite adjective
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