Prologue
I sing the God Almighty’s Creation
Whereof were firstly born Adam and Eve
former seed of any human Nation
at the time they could only conceive
the joyfulness with no desperation
In the Eden still so far to misgive
The challenge of that infernal snake
Who wanted to be a godlike fake !
I also sing about the brave men strays,
Straight descendants of that chosen race,
who such in boldly and daring ways
Isr’eli people to holy surface
They lead of Palestine. Hates, loves, betray’ls,
I don't omit, on fortune and disgrace:
those between God and men, tribes and kingdoms ;
And I sing laws, exiles, wars, in my songs.
Arduous so much however it ‘s my part,
long and full of traps my composition,
That plenty of fear I feel into my heart,
if I dare to see myself on action,
and tremble with my head before I start
The Old and the New Holy Narration!
My Fairy God, Firmament’s Creator
Please make me such an able narrator!
From Genesis’ to Apocalypse’s book
please drive my hand among rhymes and accents
to enable me to understand and hook
the most significant , deep sentiments
in order they can take a fairly look
of those seventy three, pious components!
If someone goes to Source for sweeter taste
surely my efforts I will not waste!
First Canto
From the Book of Genesis
I
As beginning God created the sky
And the earth, which was shapeless and desert
And darkness cover’d the abysses close by;
but on the waters, with divine, expert
zeal, God established that the obscurity
had to be opened to the bright alert!
God, seeing that it was good, called Day the light.
and the darkness, instead, was named Night.
Then beneath the waters, the firmament
sett God, and between them, b’low, the dry land
He also set, whither at same moment,
to any bud and tree He gave command
from seed, to be produc’d for nourishment
of any species, in ground, soil or sand!
After He had named sky, earth and sea
To following duty God had to begin.
Hereafter the lights in the sky He set
doing the moon and ‘sun for night and day,
And others signs and stars in dose correct,
for making years and seasons going away,
Because The Most High is more than Perfect
and furthermore of this I cannot say !
About this seventh stanza therefore
I will not tell you nothing anymore!
…to be continued…
Verses by Ignazio Salvatore Basile
studio.basile@tiscali.it
