ER RIFUGGIO (The Refuge)

Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli 1791 (Rome) – 1863



A le curte: te vòi sbrigà d'Aggnesa
Senza er risico tuo? Be', tu pprocura
D'ammazzalla vicino a quarche chiesa:
Poi scappa drento, e nun avé ppavura.

In zarvo che tu ssei dopo l'impresa,
Freghete del mandato de cattura;
Ché a chi tte facci l'ombra de l'offesa
Una bona scomunnica è ssicura.

Lassa fà: staccheranno la licenza:
Ma ppe la grolia der timor de Dio,
C'è sempre quarche pprete che ce penza.

Tu nun ze' un borzarolo né un giudìo,
Ma un cristiano c'ha perzo la pacenza:
Dunque, tu mena, curri in chiesa, e addio.

English

In short: do you want to get rid of Agnes
Without any risk? What you have to do
Is to kill her near a church:
Then run inside, and don't worry [1] .

Once you're safe after the action,
Don't care about the warrant of arrest;
Because anyone trying to harm you
Would surely be excommunicated.

Let them do: they'll issue the warrant:
But for the glory of the fear of God
There's always a priest who will care.

You're not a thief nor a jew [2] ,
You're a man [3] who lost his temper:
So, strike and run inside: that's it.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:03 min read
92

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB ABAB ACA XAC ACXD XCXC CCB DBC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,062
Words 198
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3

Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli

Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Belli was an Italian poet, famous for his sonnets in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome. more…

All Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli poems | Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli Books

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