Saturday, January 26, 2008

Emporium Epigram

Datemi la faccio della terra intorno,
E la strada davanti a me.
Non cerco amore ne speranza ne ricchezza,
Ne un'amico che mi capisca;
Voglio solo il cielo sopra di me
E la strada sotto i miei piedi
--Stevenson

This verse was printed on a plastic (presumably biodegradable) shopping bag from an Italian grocer. I don't know who Stevenson is, but the name sounds suspiciously un-Italian. Roughly translated, it says:

Give me the round face of the Earth,
And the path before me.
I don't seek love nor do I hope for wealth,
Nor even a friend who understands me;
I want only the sky over me
And the path under my feet.

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