"La Guazza" (The Heavy Dew) by Giovanni Pascoli. English translation, with original Italian text. "La Guazza" (The Heavy Dew) from the collection "Canti di Castelvecchio" (1903)

The following translation of "La Guazza" (The Heavy Dew) by Giovanni Pascoli is from the book "The Poems of Giovanni Pascoli: Translated in English, with Original Italian Text," published by LiteraryJoint Press (2017). Also available as Amazon ebook (Free on Kindle Unlimited!)  and also on Kobo.

Hasegawa Tōhaku, Pine Trees screen (Shōrin-zu byōbu 松林図 屏風), one of a pair of folding screens, Japan, 1593

The Heavy Dew

Down there, in the night, among the shakes

of a slow bell, a stamping

gets still. Not yet are red

the peaks of the mountains.

In the sky of languid azure,

the stars barely whiten:

you hear a confused murmur

in the serene air.

Who passes by in silent streets?

Who talks from tacit thresholds?

Nobody. It's the heavy dew that falls

on dry leaves.

Let's leave, it's time, not day yet,

as we open wide the vain pupils;

let's leave, while around is a murmur

of tiny dew drops.

All alone in the darkness,

some of them shine for a minute;

reflecting your sun, oh my sun;

then fall: they've seen.

La Guazza

Laggiù, nella notte, tra scosse

d'un lento sonaglio, uno scalpito

è fermo. Non anco son rosse

le cime dell'Alpi.

Nel cielo d'un languido azzurro,

le stelle si sbiancano appena:

si sente un confuso sussurro

nell'aria serena.

Chi passa per tacite strade?

Chi parla da tacite soglie?

Nessuno. È la guazza che cade

sopr'aride foglie.

Si parte, ch'è ora, né giorno,

sbarrando le vane pupille;

si parte tra un murmure intorno

di piccole stille.

In mezzo alle tenebre sole,

qualcuna riluce un minuto;

riflette il tuo Sole, o mio Sole;

poi cade: ha veduto.

From the collection "Canti di Castelvecchio" (1903,) by Giovanni Pascoli