The train of migrants
The migrant’s luggage
is neither big nor heavy…
A bit of earth from my village
makes me feel less lonely.
One frock, one loaf, one fruit,
that’s all I put in it.
But my heart, no, I didn’t bring it.
In the luggage it wouldn’t fit.
My heart was too sad to leave,
beyond the sea it wouldn’t dare.
In the land where I can’t eat,
as a loyal dog, it chose to remain:
in that field, just over there…
no more I see it, too fast goes the train.
‘Il treno degli emigranti’, di Gianni Rodari, taken from Filastrocche in cielo e in terra (1960).
Translated by Manuela Perteghella, 2016, with thanks to Eugenia Loffredo for her suggestions.
The Creative Literary Studio 