The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 5
In the river island of Athelney,
Nell'isola fluviale di Athelney,
With the river running past,
Con il fiume che scorreva accanto,
In colours of such simple creed
In colori di così semplice credo
All things sprang at him, sun and weed,
Ogni cosa gli balzò incontro, il sole e le erbe,
Till the grass grew to be grass indeed
Finché l'erba divenne erba davvero
And the tree was a tree at last.
E l'albero fu finalmente un albero.
Fearfully plain the flowers grew,
Terribilmente semplici crescevano i fiori,
Like the child's book to read,
Come un libro di bambino da leggere,
Or like a friend's face seen in a glass;
O come il volto di un amico visto in uno specchio;
He looked; and there Our Lady was,
Egli guardò; e lì c'era Nostra Signora,
She stood and stroked the tall live grass
Ella stava in piedi e accarezzava l'alta erba viva
As a man strokes his steed.
Come un uomo accarezza il suo destriero.
Her face was like an open word
Il suo volto era come una parola aperta
When brave men speak and choose,
Quando gli uomini coraggiosi parlano e scelgono,
The very colours of her coat
Persino i colori del suo manto
Were better than good news.
Erano meglio di una buona notizia.
She spoke not, nor turned not,
Ella non parlò, né si voltò,
Nor any sign she cast,
Né diede alcun segno,
Only she stood up straight and free,
Solo ella stava dritta e libera,
Between the flowers in Athelney,
Fra i fiori di Athelney,
And the river running past.
E il fiume che scorreva accanto.
One dim ancestral jewel hung
Un fioco gioiello ancestrale pendeva
On his ruined armour grey,
Sulla sua armatura grigia e in rovina,
He rent and cast it at her feet:
Egli lo strappò e lo gettò ai suoi piedi:
Where, after centuries, with slow feet,
Dove, dopo secoli, con lenti passi,
Men came from hall and school and street
Gli uomini vennero da palazzi e scuole e strade
And found it where it lay.
E lo trovarono là dove giaceva.
"Mother of God," the wanderer said,
«Madre di Dio,» disse il pellegrino,
"I am but a common king,
«Io non sono che un re comune,
Nor will I ask what saints may ask,
Né chiederò ciò che i santi possono chiedere,
To see a secret thing.
Di vedere una cosa segreta.
"The gates of heaven are fearful gates
«Le porte del cielo sono porte tremende
Worse than the gates of hell;
Peggiori delle porte dell'inferno;
Not I would break the splendours barred
Non io vorrei spezzare gli splendori sbarrati
Or seek to know the thing they guard,
O cercare di conoscere ciò che custodiscono,
Which is too good to tell.
Che è troppo bello per essere detto.
Vocabulary
- nell
- in the (contraction of in + il/la)
- isola
- island
- di
- of, from (preposition)
- con
- with (preposition)
- il
- the (masculine singular article)
- fiume
- river
- che
- that, which (relative pronoun)
- scorreva
- flowed, ran (imperfect third person singular)
- accanto
- beside, next to (adverb/preposition)
- in
- in (preposition)
- colori
- colors (plural noun)
- così
- so, thus (adverb)
- semplice
- simple, plain (adjective)
- credo
- I believe (first person singular present)
- ogni
- every, each (adjective)
- cosa
- thing (noun)
- gli
- to him, him (indirect/direct object pronoun)
- balzò
- jumped, sprang (past tense third person singular)
- incontro
- towards, against (preposition/adverb)
- sole
- sun (noun)
- le
- the (feminine plural article)
- erbe
- herbs, grasses (plural noun)
- finché
- until (conjunction)
- erba
- grass, herb (noun)
- divenne
- became (past tense third person singular)
- davvero
- really, truly (adverb)
- albero
- tree (noun)
- fu
- was (past tense third person singular)
- finalmente
- finally, at last (adverb)
- un
- a, an (masculine singular article)
- terribilmente
- terribly, extremely (adverb)
- semplici
- simple, plain (plural adjective)
- crescevano
- grew, were growing (imperfect third person plural)
- fiori
- flowers (plural noun)
- come
- like, as (conjunction/preposition)
- libro
- book (noun)
- bambino
- child, boy (noun)
- da
- from, by (preposition)
- leggere
- to read (infinitive)
- volto
- face (noun)
- amico
- friend (masculine noun)
- visto
- seen (past participle)
- uno
- a, one (article/number)
- specchio
- mirror (noun)
- egli
- he (personal pronoun, formal)
- guardò
- looked, watched (past tense third person singular)
- lì
- there (adverb)
- era
- was (imperfect third person singular)
- nostra
- our (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- signora
- lady, woman (noun)
- stava
- was standing (imperfect third person singular)
- piedi
- feet (plural noun)
- accarezzava
- was caressing, was stroking (imperfect)
- alta
- tall, high (feminine singular adjective)
- viva
- alive, lively (feminine singular adjective)
- uomo
- man (noun)
- accarezza
- caresses, strokes (present third person singular)
- suo
- his, her, its (possessive adjective)
- una
- a, an (feminine singular article)
- parola
- word (noun)
- aperta
- open (feminine singular adjective)
- quando
- when (conjunction/adverb)
- uomini
- men (plural noun)
- coraggiosi
- brave, courageous (plural adjective)
- parlano
- speak, talk (present third person plural)
- scelgono
- choose, select (present third person plural)
- persino
- even, even so (adverb)
- del
- of the (contraction of di + il)
- manto
- cloak, mantle (noun)
- erano
- were (imperfect third person plural)
- meglio
- better, best (adverb/adjective)
- buona
- good (feminine singular adjective)
- notizia
- news (noun)
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