Clade Song 14

[Amava le formiche e le cicale]

Amava le formiche e le cicale. Non
toccava mai bestia per non farle male
teneva ben presente
il suo passato di animale
di quando era stato anche ranocchio
ma continuava ugualmente a fare l’uomo
così

giusto per non dare nell’occhio

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

He Loved Ants and Cicadas

He loved ants and cicadas. He never
touched a creature for fear of hurting it
he was quite aware
of his animal past
when he had even been a frog
nevertheless he continued behaving like a man
thus

he avoided attracting attention

Read and translated by Barbara Carle

Lino Angiuli is an Italian poet and writer. He lives in Monopoli, where he directed a Cultural Services Center for the Puglia Region. A collaborator of the Cultural Services of Rai and newspapers, he participated in the foundation of some literary magazines, including the biannual Incroci (Editore Adda), which he co-directed. He began writing at the age of 18 and currently has fifteen poetry collections in Italian and various dialects. The land where he was born is often the inspiration for his works, but in general his whole life he has been interested in the cultural context of words and in musing on utopia. Many of his works celebrate popular culture.