Dialect Poetry of Southern Italy (Italian Poetry in Translation Book 2)

Exorcism

Go away, old misshapen evil,
come to us, healthy goodness,
so that on every side
we can see the dead enemy,
abandon ourselves to sleep
without thinking about bad things
and, like a dove under its wing
find true repose,
sleep like a fresh spring
among mountain shadows,
know what it is that cures you
of thoughts weighing your brow,
listen to new words
in the ancient young heart, and every year,
see the wheat sprout
where you burned the stubble.
(Translated by Ruth Feldman)