There Was a TimeThere was a time when words
didn’t change the air, around these parts
they fried in the oil
of cunning, held in the mouth
by fear, expedience maybe,
this silence is a curse... A glance,
a handshake were enough to change the way you spoke.
Only around the dead man’s bed
a brawl of voices, a jostling
like naked birds after a piece of bread.
(Translated by Luigi Bonaffini)