By Anna Bonavita
March marks the beginning of spring, hope and joy. It is also in March we celebrate the birthdays of both Lora and Tonino Guerra who continue to inspire Esperienza with their passion and dedication to the beauty found in small, everyday places and things. Both poets are an indelible part of Pennabilli but their influence is felt way beyond the physical boundaries of this small Italian town. They see themselves as a bridge connecting people to Italy and to a culture and way of life they cherished.
Tonino used to say “ I will be useful when humanity again wants to hear fairy tales.”
Nowadays, we cannot yet be together in person to tell stories that uplift us. Yet we want to share a poem which was Tonino’s formula for saving Italy and our souls. After all, March is when we celebrate World Poetry Day. And there has never been more need for poetry than now.
Buon compleanno Lora! Buon compleanno Tonino!
La bellezza
Il nostro petrolio è la bellezza
La bellezza ci fa pensare alto
E noi la buttiamo via come se fosse danaro dentro tasche bucate
La bellezza grida i suoi dolori in modo silenzioso. Bisogna curare le orecchie di chi comanda perché riescano a sentirla
La bellezza è il nutrimento della mente
La bellezza in Italia puoi anche incontrarla per strada e ti riempie subito di stupore
Ma nei piccoli mondi c'è tanta bellezza che sta morendo.
Se noi la salviamo, salviamo noi.
Below is an attempt at translation:
Beauty
Beauty is our oil
Beauty lifts our thoughts up high
And we squander it like spare change in a ragged pocket
Beauty's cries of pain go unheard
Falling on the deaf ears of those in charge
Beauty feeds the mind
You'll meet her on the streets in Italy; she'll turn your head
But all around in the smaller places, beauty's largesse is dying
In saving it, we save ourselves
P.S. Literal translation of La Belezza:
Our oil is beauty
Beauty makes us think high
And we throw it away as if it were money in pockets with holes
Beauty cries out her pains silently. The ears of those in charge must be looked after so that they can hear it
Beauty is the nourishment of the mind
You can also meet beauty in Italy on the street and it immediately fills you with amazement
But in the small worlds there is so much beauty that is dying
If we save it, we save ourselves