Spoon River Anthology — Page 15

English → It Full Text Level 4/10

You saw me only as a run-down man

Mi vedevi solo come un uomo a pezzi

With matted hair and beard

Con capelli e barba aggrovigliati

And ragged clothes.

E abiti laceri.

Sometimes a man's life turns into a cancer

A volte la vita di un uomo si trasforma in un cancro

From being bruised and continually bruised,

Dall'essere ferito e continuamente ferito,

And swells into a purplish mass

E si gonfia in una massa violacea

Like growths on stalks of corn.

Come escrescenze sui gambi del granturco.

Here was I, a carpenter, mired in a bog of life

Eccomi qui, un falegname, impantanato in una palude di vita

Into which I walked, thinking it was a meadow,

In cui mi sono avventurato, credendo fosse un prato,

With a slattern for a wife, and poor Minerva, my daughter,

Con una moglie sciatta, e la povera Minerva, mia figlia,

Whom you tormented and drove to death.

Che voi tormentaste e spingeste alla morte.

So I crept, crept, like a snail through the days

Così mi trascinai, mi trascinai, come una lumaca attraverso i giorni

Of my life.

Della mia vita.

No more you hear my footsteps in the morning,

Non sentirete più i miei passi al mattino,

Resounding on the hollow sidewalk

Risuonare sul marciapiede vuoto

Going to the grocery store for a little corn meal

Andando al negozio di alimentari per un po' di farina di mais

And a nickel's worth of bacon.

E cinque centesimi di pancetta.

"Butch" Weldy

After I got religion and steadied down

Dopo che trovai la fede e mi calmai

They gave me a job in the canning works,

Mi diedero un lavoro nella fabbrica di conserve,

And every morning I had to fill

E ogni mattina dovevo riempire

The tank in the yard with gasoline,

Il serbatoio nel cortile con la benzina,

That fed the blow-fires in the sheds

Che alimentava i fuochi nei capannoni

To heat the soldering irons.

Per riscaldare i ferri da saldatura.

And I mounted a rickety ladder to do it,

E salivo su una scala traballante per farlo,

Carrying buckets full of the stuff.

Portando secchi pieni di quella roba.

One morning, as I stood there pouring,

Un mattino, mentre stavo lì a versare,

The air grew still and seemed to heave,

L'aria si fece immobile e sembrava sollevarsi,

And I shot up as the tank exploded,

E fui scaraventato in alto quando il serbatoio esplose,

And down I came with both legs broken,

E ricaddi giù con entrambe le gambe rotte,

And my eyes burned crisp as a couple of eggs.

E i miei occhi bruciarono secchi come un paio di uova.

For someone left a blow—fire going,

Perché qualcuno aveva lasciato acceso un fuoco,

And something sucked the flame in the tank.

E qualcosa aspirò la fiamma nel serbatoio.

Vocabulary

Mi: Reflexive/object pronoun meaning 'me' or 'myself'
vedevi: You (singular) used to see, imperfect tense
solo: Alone, only, or just; expressing solitude or limitation
come: As, like, or how; used for comparison or questions
un: Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (masculine)
uomo: Man; an adult male human being
a: Preposition meaning 'at,' 'to,' or 'in'
pezzi: Pieces or fragments; plural of pezzo
Con: Preposition meaning 'with,' indicating accompaniment
capelli: Hair (on the head); plural noun
e: Conjunction meaning 'and,' connecting words or clauses
barba: Beard; facial hair grown on a man's chin
aggrovigliati: Tangled, knotted, or matted; adjective describing disorder
E: Conjunction 'and'; also third-person singular of 'essere'
abiti: Clothes or garments; plural of abito
laceri: Torn, tattered, or ragged; describing worn-out clothing
A: Preposition meaning 'at,' 'to,' or 'in'
volte: Times; as in 'a volte' meaning 'sometimes'
la: Definite article 'the' (feminine singular)
vita: Life; one's existence or way of living
di: Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'
si: Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'itself'
trasforma: Transforms or changes into something else
in: Preposition meaning 'in,' 'into,' or 'at'
cancro: Cancer; a malignant disease or the zodiac sign
Dall': Contraction of 'da' + 'l''; meaning 'from the'
essere: To be; fundamental Italian auxiliary and linking verb
ferito: Wounded or injured; past participle of ferire
continuamente: Continuously or constantly, without interruption
gonfia: Swells or inflates; also adjective meaning swollen
una: Indefinite article 'a' or 'an' (feminine singular)
massa: Mass or lump; a dense accumulation of matter
violacea: Purplish or violet-colored; describing a bruised hue
Come: As or like; used for comparison or similarity
escrescenze: Growths or outgrowths; abnormal protrusions on a surface
sui: Contraction of 'su' + 'i'; meaning 'on the' (masculine plural)
gambi: Stalks or stems of plants; plural of gambo
del: Contraction of 'di' + 'il'; meaning 'of the' (masculine)
granturco: Corn or maize; a staple cereal crop plant
Eccomi: Here I am; exclamation announcing one's presence
qui: Here; indicating the speaker's current location
falegname: Carpenter or joiner; a craftsman who works with wood
impantanato: Bogged down or mired; stuck in a swamp
palude: Swamp or marsh; a waterlogged, muddy area of land
In: Preposition meaning 'in' or 'into'
cui: Relative pronoun meaning 'which,' 'whom,' or 'that'
mi: First-person object pronoun meaning 'me' or 'myself'
sono: First-person plural or singular of 'essere'; 'I am' or 'they are'
avventurato: Ventured or risked entering; past participle of avventurarsi
credendo: Believing or thinking; gerund of credere
fosse: Were (subjunctive imperfect of essere); expresses doubt
prato: Meadow or lawn; an open grassy field or area
moglie: Wife; a woman in a marriage relationship
sciatta: Slovenly or unkempt; carelessly dressed or messy person
povera: Poor or wretched; expressing poverty or pity
mia: My (feminine singular); first-person possessive adjective
figlia: Daughter; a female child of a parent
Che: That, which, or who; conjunction or relative pronoun
voi: You (plural); second-person plural subject pronoun
tormentaste: You (plural) tormented; past tense of tormentare
spingeste: You (plural) pushed; remote past tense of spingere
alla: Contraction of 'a' + 'la'; meaning 'to the' (feminine)
morte: Death; the end of life
Così: So, thus, or in this way; indicating manner or result
trascinai: I dragged or pulled along; past tense of trascinare
lumaca: Snail; a slow-moving mollusk, often symbolizing sluggishness
attraverso: Through or across; indicating movement via a space
i: Definite article 'the' (masculine plural)
giorni: Days; plural of giorno, units of time
Della: Contraction of 'di' + 'la'; meaning 'of the' (feminine)
Non: Not; negation particle used before verbs
sentirete: You (plural) will hear; future tense of sentire
più: More or no longer; used in comparisons or negations
miei: My (masculine plural); first-person possessive adjective
passi: Steps or footsteps; plural of passo
al: Contraction of 'a' + 'il'; meaning 'at the' or 'in the'
mattino: Morning; the early part of the day
Risuonare: To resound or echo; to ring out repeatedly
sul: Contraction of 'su' + 'il'; meaning 'on the' (masculine singular)
marciapiede: Sidewalk or pavement; pedestrian path beside a road
vuoto: Empty or void; lacking content, people, or substance
Andando: Going; gerund of andare, indicating movement in progress
negozio: Shop or store; a place where goods are sold
alimentari: Grocery store; relating to food and provisions
per: For, through, or in order to; multipurpose preposition
po': A little; short form of 'poco,' indicating small amount
farina: Flour; finely ground grain used in cooking
mais: Maize or corn; a yellow cereal grain crop
cinque: Five; the cardinal number between four and six
centesimi: Cents or small coins; hundredths of a monetary unit
pancetta: Italian bacon or belly pork; cured pork product
Dopo: After or afterwards; indicating temporal sequence
che: That, which, or who; conjunction or relative pronoun
trovai: I found; remote past tense of trovare
fede: Faith or belief; trust in religion or a person
calmai: I calmed down; past tense of calmarsi
diedero: They gave; remote past tense of dare
lavoro: Work or job; employment or a task performed
nella: Contraction of 'in' + 'la'; meaning 'in the' (feminine)
fabbrica: Factory or plant; a building where goods are manufactured
conserve: Preserves or canned goods; preserved food products
ogni: Every or each; indicating all members of a group
mattina: Morning; the early hours of the day
dovevo: I had to; imperfect tense of dovere expressing obligation
riempire: To fill; to put something into a container until full
Il: Definite article 'the' (masculine singular)
serbatoio: Tank or reservoir; a container for storing liquids
nel: Contraction of 'in' + 'il'; meaning 'in the' (masculine)
cortile: Courtyard or yard; an enclosed outdoor space near a building
con: Preposition meaning 'with'
benzina: Gasoline or petrol; fuel used in engines
alimentava: Fed or fueled; imperfect tense of alimentare
fuochi: Fires; plural of fuoco, combustion producing heat and light
nei: Contraction of 'in' + 'i'; meaning 'in the' (masculine plural)
capannoni: Large sheds or warehouses; big industrial storage buildings
Per: For or in order to; preposition indicating purpose
riscaldare: To heat or warm up; to raise the temperature of something
ferri: Irons or metal tools; plural of ferro
da: From, by, or since; versatile Italian preposition
saldatura: Welding or soldering; joining metals with heat
salivo: I climbed or went up; imperfect tense of salire
su: On, up, or above; preposition indicating position or direction
scala: Ladder or staircase; a structure used for climbing
traballante: Wobbly or shaky; unstable and likely to topple
farlo: To do it; infinitive 'fare' combined with pronoun 'lo'
Portando: Carrying or bringing; gerund of portare
secchi: Buckets; plural of secchio, containers for liquids
pieni: Full; plural adjective meaning filled to capacity
quella: That (feminine); demonstrative adjective or pronoun
roba: Stuff or things; informal word for material or substance
Un: Indefinite article 'a' or 'an' (masculine singular)
mentre: While or whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
stavo: I was (doing); imperfect of stare, indicating ongoing action
lì: There; indicating a location away from the speaker
versare: To pour or spill; to transfer liquid from a container
L': Elided definite article 'the' before a vowel
aria: Air; the invisible gas mixture surrounding the earth
fece: Made or did; remote past tense of fare
immobile: Still or motionless; not moving, fixed in place
sembrava: Seemed or appeared; imperfect tense of sembrare
sollevarsi: To lift oneself or rise up; reflexive of sollevare
fui: I was; remote past tense of essere
scaraventato: Hurled or flung; past participle of scaraventare
alto: High or tall; at a great elevation or height
quando: When; temporal conjunction linking two events
il: Definite article 'the' (masculine singular)
esplose: Exploded; remote past tense of esplodere
ricaddi: I fell back down; remote past tense of ricadere
giù: Down or downward; indicating a downward direction
entrambe: Both (feminine); indicating two things together
le: Definite article 'the' (feminine plural) or pronoun 'her'
gambe: Legs; lower limbs of the human body
rotte: Broken; feminine plural past participle of rompere
occhi: Eyes; the organs of sight, plural of occhio
bruciarono: They burned; remote past tense of bruciare
paio: Pair or couple; a set of two matching things
uova: Eggs; plural of uovo, oval objects laid by birds
Perché: Because or why; causal conjunction or interrogative adverb
qualcuno: Someone or somebody; an unspecified person
aveva: Had; third-person singular imperfect of avere
lasciato: Left or allowed; past participle of lasciare
acceso: Lit or turned on; past participle of accendere
fuoco: Fire or flame; combustion producing heat and light
qualcosa: Something; an unspecified or unknown thing
aspirò: Sucked in or drew in; past tense of aspirare
fiamma: Flame; the visible burning part of a fire

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