Valentine (By Giovanni Pascoli) Poem by Paolo Giuseppe Mazzarello
Valentine (By Giovanni Pascoli)
O Valentine in your new clothes
As the branches of the hawthorns in blossom!
Only your little feet tried by the blackberry bush
Wear the skin of your little feet;
You wear the shoes mum did for you,
That didn't cost one penny; instead
She sewed an expensive suit for you.
It was expensive: mum already spent
That jingling moneybox;
Now it's empty; all the poultry pen
Sang for more than one month
To fill it.
Think about January, when the fire of the log
Wasn't enough for you, you were trembling, alas!
And the hens sang: One egg!
Here here one egg, one egg for you!
Then the hens sat on eggs, and March came,
And you thin little countryman
Stayed half way, with your feathers,
But as a barefoot bird:
As a bird come from the sea,
Which jumps on the cherry tree, and doesn't know
That besides pecking, singing, loving
Another happiness could be.
(Translated from Italian by Paolo G. Mazzarello)
In the picture: "Kim" by V. Saville (from Kipling) , USA,1950.
VALENTINO Oh! Valentino vestito di nuovo, come le brocche dei biancospini! Solo, ai piedini provati dal rovo porti la pelle de' tuoi piedini; porti le scarpe che mamma ti fece, che non mutasti mai da quel dì, che non costarono un picciolo: in vece costa il vestito che ti cucì. Costa; ché mamma già tutto ci spese quel tintinnante salvadanaio: ora esso è vuoto; e cantò più d'un mese per riempirlo, tutto il pollaio. Pensa, a gennaio, che il fuoco del ciocco non ti bastava, tremavi, ahimè! , e le galline cantavano, Un cocco! ecco ecco un cocco un cocco per te! Poi, le galline chiocciarono, e venne marzo, e tu, magro contadinello, restasti a mezzo, così con le penne, ma nudi i piedi, come un uccello: come l'uccello venuto dal mare, che tra il ciliegio salta, e non sa ch'oltre il beccare, il cantare, l'amare, ci sia qualch'altra felicità. Wonderful wonderful in both languages. Thank you so much for the brilliant translation and sharing the treasure with all the English speaking members of PH! Molto grazie, Paolo!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/6/2024 8:31:38 PM # 1.0.0.1119
That besides pecking, singing, loving Another happiness could be. Rachel Ann Butler