The Letter Never SentDear Gargano, I write this letter to you
to make you see that, from the day I left,
you never fail to come into my dreams,
as the beloved comes to a lover’s dream,
and as a mother comes to a son’s dreams.
I dream I’m there ─ down in the Marsh again ─
as long ago, and if you can believe me,
I’ll also tell you that I hear the toll
of the bell of St. Anthony,
and when I listen to that sacred voice,
what can I do? an emigrant alone
can know the lump that rises in my throat.
I always write letters to you, but then
don’t mail them all because they weigh too much,
and the mailman would have a roaring laugh
if I ever said I want to send
a letter to a Mountain every day.
You have to sympathize: he’s an American,
and doesn’t understand that you are better
than all the people who have been to school.
So, my Gargano, my beautiful Gargano,
I’m writing you this letter so you’ll know