Song of Times PastI’m leaving for a very distant land
accompanied by love that lights my way.
At night I drink the water from the fountain
I stop along the river in the hayrick.
But now the water has a bitter taste,
in the hayrick I can no longer rest.
I have no longer relatives nor friends,
I do not have a house to call a home;
and so I wander lost, but do not bend,
because I still have you, my blessed love!
You alone my fate didn’t take away
lamp that gives me warmth and shows the way.
The road is long and I know where it ends:
it takes me to an old enchanted fortress
where only ill-starred people go to stay,
where once inside I’ll soon forget my pain.
Stay close to my heart, and keep me company,
don’t let the light die out along the way.
(Translated by Luigi Bonaffini)