La staffetta - The Courier

The Courier
I
) Go! ) his father said to her ) and say hello
To the faroff land where I was born;
Tell her that your father loves her so,
Ill-starred though he's been, wandering forlorn.
It's of great comfort to my unkind fortune
If you go see Decollatura.


Kiss me and go! Say hello to Reventino,
Covered with alders and with chestnut trees;
Say hello to the flax-sown fields,
Say hello to the mountains and ravines.
Say hello to Carricello, to my home,
And the stones of each road in Adami.
A messenger of love as well as sorrow
The devoted young daughter made the voyage;
She kissed Michele's cherished shore
And then set sail on her ship once more
To bring back to her father a message
Of beckoning, of entreaty and love.
) Embrace me tightly, father! I am back!
I bring you Reventino's bracing air.
What a journey, father! A long trek!
What caring, loving people I found there!
I felt like I was living in the thrall
Of the most beautiful fairy-tale of all!
) Ah! ) he said ) If only we could go
Back to Adami, how wonderful and good!
If only we could hear Gargiglia's flow
as it seethes and roars when in full flood!
If we could hear those fairy-tales again,
from Tora, just as we heard them then!
A hope within my heart is smiling still
And I seem to be getting close to it.
It seems to me I feel a fragrant smell
Of fields that have been sown with flax and wheat.
And what a reawakening of memories!
If it's a dream, don't rouse me from its reveries!...
(Translation by Luigi Bonaffini)