Dolci with Dante
Ciao bella, come sta?
In perfect heaps biscotti
Amaretti dolci baci
Sugar kisses, si
Va bene, piacere
All is well,
Honeyed almond treats
Italian, the poetry of Dante
His sweet tongue
Chosen for posterity
A language pouring golden, languid
Set to music, love’s song
Lilting
Just to pass the time of day-
Buongiorno, buona sera
Hear a melody released
And ringing in the air
Sweet as chocolate
Dark magic in the cup,
Cioccolata calda
On the tongue,
Italian, the poetry of Dante
Ciao bella, come sta?
In perfect heaps biscotti
Amaretti dolci baci
Sugar kisses, si
Va bene, piacere
All is well,
Honeyed almond treats
Italian, the poetry of Dante
His sweet tongue
Chosen for posterity
A language pouring golden, languid
Set to music, love’s song
Lilting
Just to pass the time of day-
Buongiorno, buona sera
Hear a melody released
And ringing in the air
Sweet as chocolate
Dark magic in the cup,
Cioccolata calda
On the tongue,
Italian, the poetry of Dante
5th August 2010, Hounoux
Italiano, such passion in every word!
ReplyDeleteAs you say Gill- Italian is a language full of passion and so beautiful on the ear! Andy and I are just beginning to learn it, after I was so inspired during my trip with Jude to Rome. Coincidentally I was reading Eat Pray Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. The 'eat' in the title refers to her 3months living in Italy, trying to learn the language, because she thinks it is so beautiful. It is from that book that I learned that when it came to deciding the way the language would go (as there were previously many different forms of it), it was decided to model the official Italian language on Dante's. SO no wonder then it's so lyrical!
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