The Haughty Man - A Sicilian Poem
February 10, 2010
Di Maria Rosaria Mutolo
A tia ... si, propriu tu!
Viri ca parru cu tia.
Chi fai, t’ ammucci?
Nun vo’ sentiri?
Certu, ti pisanu sti palori!
Sai ca sunnu pi tia, e fai finta di nenti!
E poi, stu fattu ca ti parru ‘ ndialettu,
propriu nun lu supporti;
comu si fussi ‘ ngrisi
e nun capissi chiddu chi dicu!
Lu capisci, ‘u capisci rnegghiu di mia lu sicilianu!
Pero, li genti fini parranu sulu ‘talianu,
picchi, sinno, sunnu cafuni, sunnu pedi ‘ncritati.
Chiddi cornu a tia s’ allordanu la vucca
si parranu sicilianu!
Ma chi ti pari? Puru ju sacciu parrari ‘ nlingua.
Ma cu tia e megghiu nun perdiri tempu,
e ti lassu sulu, tantu nun capisci nenti!
Nun c’e cchiù surdu di cu’ nun voli sentiri!
Tu hai un balatuni ô postu di lu cori!
Ti parru di la terra mia ch’è puru la tua,
e ti voti la facci!
Picchi nun ti nni vai? Vattinni dda unni
si parra furisteri. Accussì si’ cuntentu!
THE HAUGHTY MAN
Di Maria Rosaria Mutolo
translated by Gaetano Cipolla
You, yes you!
I am talking to you, yes you!
Why are you hiding?
You do not want to hear? My words must weigh on you!
You know they’re meant for you
and you make believe it’s nothing.
The fact I’m talking to you in dialect
is something you can’t bear.
as though I spoke in English
that you don’t understand.
You understand Sicilian maybe better than I do.
But uppity people speak only Italian,
otherwise people might believe
you’re a poor slob with dirty feet.
Men like you don’t want to taint their mouth
by speaking in Sicilian.
What do you think? I too can speak Italian.
But with you I don’t want to waste my breath
and leave you alone, You really do not get it.
No one is deafer than the man who does not want to hear.
You have a slab of stone instead of a heart.
I am talking of the land that’s mine and yours
and you just turn the other way. Why don’t you go away?
Go where they speak a foreign tongue and you’ll be happy.
