Journal of Italian Translation

Adria Bernardi/Raffaello Baldini
for a snack, I don’t even wash it, with a little salt,
and so tell me, which you’re near
Giordana, I heard some talk, you too, I was talking to,
it could have been Dora, it could have been Marina,
which they really, it’s better to say nothing,
but come on, one day, I saw her crying to Giordana,
“I have two sisters who. . .” she was ashamed,
and now it comes out, which I just couldn’t believe, you either,
and well, she always did what was expected,
you couldn’t have said a bad word, never, her mother
used to brag, are you crazy, her Giordana,
then out of the blue, that’s what I’m saying,
there’s so many of these kinds of messes these days, how did she
end up
pregnant? and with who? she’s not saying a word,
they say she’s not talking, buy there are some who are saying,
that’s what it seems like,
you heard it too? with Walter Lucchi,
which I don’t know, I, even her, with a married man,
who’s intelligent, so intelligent that,
you’ve got a brain? why don’t you use it? and they say that Elsa
already knows everything, it’s been two or three days
that no one’s seen Walter, he’s away, even there, suiting himself,
two families ruined,
so, you’re going to make a salad tonight, does it give you the runs?
it kills him, but you can eat whatever you want to,
they have such a perfume, smell it,
no, I’m going to make scrambled eggs,
with spinach, it’s six, I’m going in now to get things started, thank
you for what? for two or three tomatoes?
it’s been awhile since we’ve talked,
I’ll see you and say hello to Mariola for me,
I’d love to have a sister like her too,
she can do anything with her hands, and the next time, remember,
when you come by here, there’s figs, look how loaded it is,
in a week-and-a-half or two they’ll be ripe,
what do you mean it’s early, it’s ringing seven-thirty,
when do you want to eat? come on now, hurry up, it’s getting cold,
is it too bland? put in some salt, you
like it salty, which isn’t good for you,
it’s not me saying it, it’s the doctors saying it,
too much salt is bad for you,
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