[Per certe madri che]

Per certe madri che
tenevano il cuore al posto del cuore
facevano il pane di santantonio
tra un pateravegloria e l’altro
scacciavano i vermi con forbici e latini
dalle pance spaventate dei bambini
.
E parlavano con le galline e le capre
e mettevano il muso contro la gramigna
e piangevano se piangevano gli altri
e ridevano se ridevano gli altri
e soprattutto non potevano vederla
la malarazza dei cristiani che imboscano il bene
insieme ai bei miracoli dell’acqua
al suo debole odore
venerato come reliquia santa
.
Per certe madri come quella mia
questa minuscola chiamiamola poesia

from: Di ventotto ce n’è uno: parole e musica, Scena, Fasano, 1991.

For Certain Mothers Who

For certain mothers who
kept their heart in the heart’s place
made Saint Anthony’s bread
between an Our Father and  Hail Mary
with scissors and prayers routed worms hidden
in the frightened tummies of children
.
And they spoke with hens and goats
rubbed their muzzles against the couch grass
they cried if others cried
and they laughed if others laughed
and they especially couldn’t stand
the wicked Christian breed that ambushes the good
along with miracles of water
and its faint smell
which we venerate like a saintly relic
.
for certain mothers like my own
let’s call this tiny thing a poem.

* Saint Anthony’s votive bread is distributed June 13th in certain Franciscan churches and in Southern Italy. It is also home baked in specific forms resembling curved crosses, especially in Bari.
** with scissors and prayers routed worms hidden: refers to a magical practice in rural farming culture. They would try to cure pinworms, an unhealthy sign that struck children’s intestines due to poor hygiene. The ritual, handed down secretly from one woman to another, included gestures, formulas, and canonical prayers recited in Latin (Pater noster, Ave Maria, Gloria Patri: Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be to the Father).