LI SPIRITI IV (Ghosts 4)

Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli 1791 (Rome) – 1863



Un mese, o ppoco ppiù, doppo er guadaggno
De la piastra, che ffece er zanto prete,
Venne la pasqua, e 'r gabbiano che ssapete
Cominciò a lavorà de scacciaraggno.

"Ch'edè? Un bucio ar zolaro! Oh, pprete caggno",
Fece allora er babbeo che conoscete:
"Eccolo indove vanno le monete!
Va che lo scudo mio cerca er compaggno?"

Doppo infatti du' notte de respiro,
Ecchete la Badessa della muffa
A daje giù cor zolito sospiro.

"Sor don Libborio mio, basta una fuffa",
Strillò quello; "e le messe, pe sto giro,
Si le volete dì, ditele auffa".

English

About one month, or slightly more, after
the holy priest's profit of one shilling,
Easter came, and the aforesaid fool
Began cleaning his house .

"What's this? A hole in the ceiling! Oh, damned priest",
Said the fool you know:
"This is where my money goes!
I bet that my shilling is going to double" .

And actually after two nights of rest,
There goes the old Abbess again
Whith the usual sigh.

"Father Liborio, one trick's enough"
He cried; "and this time,
If you want to say mass, say mass for free".

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

57 sec read
116

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBA ABBA CDC DCD CXXX XAXX XAD DXC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,059
Words 189
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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