Rosamunda
by Guillaume Apollinaire
English and Italian translation by Justin Vitiello
Rosamunda
At the foot of the stairs in this house I haunt the lady I pursued in Amsterdam two whole hours ascended…
My fingers sent kisses…
But the canal was empty like the boulevard, no one saw how my kisses could reach her even one day for two hours, reach her, the idol of my sacrifice…
I dubbed her Rosamunda wanting to recall her mouth in that Holland of flowers – then, slowly, always questing, I left the Rose of the World… |
Rosemonde
Longtemps au pied du perron de La maison où entra la dame Que j’avais suivie pendant deux Bonnes heures à Amsterdam Mes doigts jetèrent des baisers
Mais le canal était désert Le quai aussi et nul ne vit Comment mes baisers retrouvèrent Celle à qui j’ai donné ma vie Un jour pendant plus de deux heures
Je la surnommai Rosemonde Voulant pouvoir me rappeler Sa bouche fleurie en Hollande Puis lentement je m’en allai Pour quêter la Rose du Monde |
Rosamunda
A lungo ai piedi della scalinata della casa dov’entro era salita la signora che ad Amsterdam io avevo per due buone ore seguita inviarono baci le mie dita
Ma vuoto era il canale, anche il vïale, e niuno vide in quale modo ebbero trovato i baci miei lei a cui ho donato la mia vita un giorno per piú di due ore
Rosamonda la soprannominai volendo ricordarmi la sua bocca in Olanda fiorita poi lentamente in cerca me ne andai della Rosa del Mondo |
Translator: Justin Vitiello, professor Emeritus of Italian, taught for many years at Temple in both Philadelphia and Rome. A poet and translator working primarily in English, Italian and Spanish, he has translated texts between all of these languages in addition to Latin, Italian dialects, and French. His published collections include Il carro del pesce di Vanzetti (1989), subsequently translated as Vanzetti’s Fish Cart (1993); Subway Home (1994), translated into Italian in 1998; Suicidio di un poeta etnico / Suicide of an Ethnic Poet (2004); and Amapolas y cardos / Poppies and Thistles (2006).