A Cold Coming

Tony Harrison

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Original	Traduzzioni siciliana / Sicilian translation / ترجمة صقلية / Traduc...
A COLD COMING	NA VINUTA FRIDDA

A cold coming we had of it.	Fu na vinuta fridda a nostra
T. S. Eliot, Journey of the Magi	T.S.Elliot, Viaggiu dî Magi

I saw the charred Iraqi lean	Vitti gnutticarisi n’irachenu arsu
towards me from bomb-blasted screen,	stinnutu do vitru tuttu aschïatu ‘nvers’ i mia,

his windscreen wiper like a pen	U tergicristallu ca pari na pinna
ready to write down thoughts for men,[1]	prontu ppi scriviri pinsera ppi l’umanitati

his windscreen wiper like a quill	U tergicristallu ca pari na chiuma
he’s reaching for to make his will.	ca iḍḍu stassi gghiarpannu ppi fari testamentu.

I saw the charred Iraqi lean	Vitti l’irachenu arsu gnutticatu
like someone made of Plasticine	com’un cristianu fatt’i cira

as though he’d stopped to ask the way	Comu si s’avissi pusatu ppi dumannari a strata,
and this is what I heard him say:	chisti foru i so sintenzia:

«Don’t be afraid I’ve picked on you	“Un ti scantari ,ju assiḍḍii a tia
for this exclusive interview.[2]	ppi essiri spiatu na vota sula

Isn’t it your sort of poet’s task	Un ti pari ca ‘n pueta dâ to jnìa s’avi a pigghiari a stagghiata
to find words for this frightening mask?	di nescir’i palori ppi sta mascara i scantu?

If that gadget that you’ve got records	Si u strummentu ca porti cu tia po registrari
words from such scorched vocal chords,	i palori di sti cannarozza arsi,

press RECORD before some dog	Mmacca REGISTRA prima ca ‘n cani
devours me mid-monologue».	mi lania mentri staiu parrannu ”

So I held the shaking microphone	‘Ncugnai u microfonu c’abballariava
closer to the crumbling bone:	allatu i l’ossa sfatti:

«I read the news of three wise men	“Liggii nto jurnali ca tri cristiani saggi
who left their sperm in nitrogen,	lassaru ‘mpullini di spacchiu nto cugnilaturi

three foes of ours, three wise Marines[3]	Tri nimici nostri, tri saggi marò
with sample flasks and magazines,	ccu ‘mpullini e fotugrafìi vastasi

three wise soldiers from Seattle	Tri saggi marò di Seattle
who banked their sperm before the battle.	ca sarbar’u spacchiu prima di jri ‘nguerra

Did No. 1 say: God be thanked	Dissi u nummaru 1: Grazzii a Diu
I’ve got my precious semen banked.	U me spacchiu prezziusu ci l’aiu sarbatu

And No. 2: O praise the Lord	E u nummaru 2: Grazzii ô Signuri
my last best shot is safely stored.	a me urtima scupittata, a megghiu, je sarbata o sicuru

And No. 3: Praise be to God	E u nummaru 3: Grazzii a Diu
I left my wife my frozen wad?	chì lassai a me mugghjeri u me megghiu sgricciu.

So if their fate was to be gassed[4]	Accussì, su ci capitava di cripari sfissiati cc’u gas,
at least they thought their name would last,[5]	pinsaru c’a nenti i nnomi avissiru ristatu

and though cold corpses in Kuwait	E cuttuttu ca iḍḍi fussiru catafari nto Kuwait,
they could by proxy procreate.[6]	putevanu u stissu pricurari di ‘mprinari.

Excuse a skull half roast, half bone	A scusari na crozza menza arsa e menza ossa
for using such a scornful tone.	ca usa parlari senza rispettu.

It may seem out of all proportion	Po pariri esaggeratu,
but I wish I’d taken their precaution.	macari m’avissi quartiatu comu a iḍḍi !

They seemed the masters of their fate	Parevanu i patruna dî so distini
with wisely jarred ejaculate.	ccâ spirtizza di mbuattari i so spacchi

Was it a propaganda coup	Fu nu ‘ncegnu dâ propaganna
to make us think they’d cracked death too,	ppi farni cridiri c’avevanu scassatu macari a morti,

disinformation to defeat us	Na farfantaria ppi mbrugghiari
with no post-mortem millilitres?	a nuautri senza na sbrizza lassata ppi testamentu ?

Symbolic billions in reserve	Ḍḍi miliuna mis’i latu
made me, for one, lose heart and nerve.	a mia a nenti m’abbileru e mi ficiru veniri u nirbusu

On Saddam’s pay we can’t afford	Ccu sordu di Saddam nun putemu vidiri u lustru
to go and get our semen stored.	i cataminarini ppi sarbari i nostri spacchi

Sad to say that such high tech’s	Je cosa ‘nfuscata, cca un n’avemu na ticnoluggìa accussì fina,
uncommon here. We’re stuck with sex.	Semu ancora accippati ô futtisteriu

If you can conjure up and stretch	Si po arrivisciri a fantasia e stinnicchiarila
your imagination (and not retch)	( senza jttari li vudeḍḍa )

the image of me beside my wife	Po finciri di vidiri a mia e me mugghieri
closely clasped creating life…»	‘ncucchiati ppi criari vita …”

(I let the unfleshed skull unfold	( Lassai a crozza scurciata ca sdignutticava u cuntu
a story I’d been already told,	ca ju avia già ‘ntisu,

and idly tried to calculate	E adaҫiatu ju fici u cuntu
the content of ejaculate:	dâ sustanzia di na sburrata:

the sperm in one ejaculation	I spermatozoi di na sburrata
equals the whole Iraqi nation	assummanu a tutt’a pupulazzioni

times, roughly, let’s say, 12.5	Di l’Iraq murtiblicata ppi 12,5 pressappocu,
though that. 5’s not now alive.	cuttuttu ca nu 0,5 un c’è cchiù.

Let’s say the sperms were an amount	Ora , vegnu e dicu, i spermatozoi jeranu assa’ voti
so many times the body count,	i cchiù dê catafari

2,500 times at least	2.500 a quannu a quannu
(but let’s wait till the toll’s released!)	( ma spittamu ‘nsina ca ni spalisan’u cuntu !)

Whichever way Death seems outflanked	Comu je gghié a Morti pari ‘ntunnata
by one tube of cold bloblings banked.	di na ‘mpullin’ i pupiḍḍi ‘ncugnilati

Poor bloblings, maybe you’ve been blessed	Poviri pupiḍḍi, capaci ca di tutti li sorti possibbuli
with, of all fates possible, the best	avistivu a megghiu

according to Sophocles i.e.	Veni a diri, secunnu Sofocli,
«the best of fates is not to be»	“A megghiu sorti je chiḍḍa di un essiri”,

a philosophy that’s maybe bleak	Na pinzata ca pari fusca a cuegghiè
for any but an ancient Greek	menu ca pp’un grecu anticu,

but difficult these days to escape	ma di sti tempi je na marreḍḍa i spirugghiari
when spoken to by such a shape.	quannu parra un pirsunaggiu di ssa fattizza

When you see men brought to such states	Quannu talii cristiani arridduciuti i ssa mala manera
who wouldn’t want that «best of fates»	Cu je ca un addisiassi ḍḍa “ megghiu sorti”,

or in the world of Cruise and Scud	o nto munnu dî Scud e Cruise
not go kryonic if he could,	un essiri pussibbilmenti ‘ncugnilatu,

spared the normal human doom	canziannu l’ordinaria sorti umana
of having made it through the womb?)	di trafichiari ppi mmattìri nte l’uteru?)

He heard my thoughts and stopped the spool	‘Nzirtò i me pinzera e astutò a cassetta:
«I never thought life futile, fool!	“Mai pinzai câ vita je na minchiata, pezz’i fissa!

Though all Hell began to drop	Quantunchi l’universu ‘Nfernu mi sciḍḍicava ‘ncoḍḍu
I never wanted life to stop.	mai m’addisiai di finirila.

I was filled with such a yearning	Fui accussì chinu di disiu
to stay in life as I was burning,	di campari mentri stava bruҫiannu

such a longing to be beside	Accussì sfilava lu cori di stari allatu
my wife in bed before I died,	i me mugghieri ‘nto lettu mentri stava murennu

and, most, to have engendered there	e primariamenti d’aviri criatu ḍḍa
a child untouched by war’s despair.	un figghiu c’avissi canziatu i disperazioni dâ uerra.

So press RECORD! I want to reach	Perciò mmacca REGISTRA ! Vogghiu abbjari
the warring nations with my speech.	ê paisi in uerra i me palori

Don’t look away! I know it’s hard	Un taliari di n’autra banna! U sacciu ca scura lu cori
to keep regarding one so charred,[7]	appizzari l’occhi a unu accussì ‘ncravunutu

so disfigured by unfriendly fire	Accussì sfazzunatu dû focu nemicu
and think it once burned with desire.	E penza ca na vota abbruҫiava dû disiu.

Though fire has flayed off half my features	U focu scurciò na mità dê me fattizzi,
they once were like my fellow creatures»,	ma na vota jeranu com’a chiḍḍi dê me cumpagni,

till some screen-gazing[8] crop-haired boy	‘Nzinu ca corchi picciottu cchî capiḍḍi curti
from Iowa or Illinois,	amminchiatu cchî televisuri , di l’Iowa o di l’Illinois

equipped by ingenious technophile	Carricatu di nu ‘ngignu lesu di tecnulogia
put paid to my paternal smile	pigghiò di mira u me sorrisu di patri

and made the face you see today	e casciunò a facci ca stai taliannu oi
an armature half-patched with clay,	na curazza ppi mità accupunata i crita

an icon framed, a looking glass	Na stampa i ‘ncurniciari, un riflessu
for devotees of “kicking ass”,[9]	ppi ddivoti dû “cauciu nto culu”

a mirror that returns the gaze	u specchiu ca renni l’ucchïata
of victors on their victory days	dê vincituri nte jorna dâ vittoria

and in the end stares out the watcher	e ca infini talia ccu l’occhi sfunnati u spettaturi mmarazzatu
who ducks behind his headline: GOTCHA![10]	ca s’ammuccia darrè u tituluni “NZIRTATU”

or behind the flag-bedecked page I	Opuru darrè a paggina 1, addubbata ccâ bannera,
of the true to bold-type-setting «SUN»![11]	dô jiurnali “SULI” a carattiri ‘ngrassettu

I doubt victorious Greeks let Hector	Un criu ca i Greci vincituri dettiru largasia a Ettore
join their feast as spoiling spectre,	di participari â festa com’un fantasima ppi sminnittiarila,

and who’d want to sour the children’s joy	e cu je ca vulissi ammacchiari a cuntintizza
in Iowa or Illinois	dê carusi di l’Iowa o di l’Illinois

or ageing mothers overjoyed	o dê matri vecchie mmenz’u scattiu dâ cuntintizza
to find their babies weren’t destroyed ?	picchì i so bamminiḍḍuni s’anu sarvatu a peḍḍi ?

But cabs beflagged with « SUN» front pages	Ma i taxi mercati cchî primi paggini dô “SULI”
don’t help peace in future ages.	un aggiuvanu a paci nte tempi a viniri

Stars and Stripes in sticky paws	Stiḍḍi e strisci nte l’artigghi mpiccicusi
may sow the seeds for future wars.	ponu jttari i simenti i uerre un jornu

Each Union Jack the kids now wave	Ogni bannera nglisi ca i picciriḍḍi ora salutanu
may lead them later to the grave.	I po cunnuciri doppu â tomba.

But praise the Lord and raise the banner	Ma lodati u Signuri e isati u stinnardu
(excuse a skull’s sarcastic manner!)	(scusa a furma i sdilliggiu di na crozza !)

Desert Rat [12] and Desert Stormer [13]	I Surci dô Desertu e chiḍḍi dâ Tempesta dô Desertu
without scars and (maybe) trauma,	senza nu mercu e (po essiri) senza na botta

the semen-bankers are all back	I bancheri do spacchiu anu turnatu
to sire their children in their sack.	a fari figghi nto saccu i sempri

With seed sown straight from the sower	Ccu spacchiu siminatu direttamenti dô siminaturi
dump second-hand spermatozoa![14]	Jttati i spermatozoi di secunna manu !

Lie that you saw me and I smiled	Cunta na farfantaria, cunta ca mi truvasti ca surridevu
to see the soldier hug his child.	taliannu u surdatu c’abbrazzava u so picciriḍḍu.

Lie and pretend that I excuse	Cunta na farfantaria e finci ca ju i discarricu
my bombing by B52S,	d’ essiri statu capuliatu dî B52S

pretend I pardon and forgive	Finci ca dugnu pirdunanza e pirdunu
that they still do and I don’t live,	a chiḍḍi ca ‘ncora u fanu mentre un sugnu cchiù vivu

pretend they have the burnt man’s blessing	Finci ca c’anu a binidizzioni di l’omu arsu
and then, maybe. I’m spared confessing	e allura po essiri ca ju scapulu i cunfissari

that only fire burnt out the shame	Ca sulu u focu abbruҫiò a vrigogna
of things I’d done in Saddam’s name,	dê cosi ca fici in nomu di Saddam

the deaths, the torture and the plunder	Ammazzatini, turturi e sacchiamenti,
the black clouds all of us are under.	nivuli nivuri ca n’accupunanu tutti

Say that I’m smiling and excuse	Dicci ca ju staiu surridennu e c’addumannu scusa
the Scuds we launched against the Jews.[15]	ppî Scud ca jttammu contra l’Ebrei.

Pretend I’ve got the imagination	Finci ca m’aiu figuratu
to see the world beyond one nation.	di vidiri u munnu sparti na sula nazioni

That’s your job, poet, to pretend	Je cosa tô, pueta, finciri
I want my foe to be my friend.	ca vogghiu a scanciu u me nemicu ppi amicu

It’s easier to find such words	Je cchiù spicciu nesciri ssi palori
for this dumb mask like baked dogturds.	ppi sta maschira lofia comu i strunz’ i cani

So lie and say the charred man smiled	Perciò smàfara e dicci ca u bbruҫiatu surrisi
to see the soldier hug his child.	quannu vitti u surdatu c’abbrazzava u so picciriḍḍu.

This gaping rictus once made glad	Stu sgrignu sbalancatu na vutazza
a few old hearts back in Baghdad,	arrimuḍḍava i cori di na maniata di picciotte a Baghdad,

hearts growing older by the minute	cori ca ‘nsiccumanu ‘nsuppilu ‘nsuppilu
as each truck comes without me in it.	manu manu c’arrivanu i cami senza i mia.

I’ve met you though, and had my say	Cuttuttu ti ‘ncuntrai e ti cuntai u cuntu
which you’ve got taped. Now go away».	Ca tu registrasti. Ora vatinni”

I gazed at him and he gazed back	C’appizzai l’occhi ‘ncoḍḍu a iḍḍu e iḍḍu cchî so occhi sbarrachïati
staring right through me to Iraq.[16]	mi spirciava ppi taliari ‘nversu l’Iraq

Facing the way the charred man faced	Ccâ facci vutata unni taliava l’omu abbruҫiatu
I saw the frozen phial of waste,	vitti na ‘mpulla ncugnilata i munnizza

a test-tube frozen in the dark,	Na ‘mpulla a tubettu ncugnilata nto scuru,
crib and Kaaba [17], sacred Ark [18],	naca e Muschìa dâ Mecca, Arca di l’Allianza,

a pilgrimage of Cross and Crescent [19]	Un Pilligrinaggiu di Cruci e Menzaluna,
the chilled suspension of the Present.	u Prisenti ‘mmurratu e ‘ncugnilatu

Rainbows seven shades of black	Arcubbalena ccu setti sfumatin’i nivuru
curved from Kuwait back to Iraq,[20]	‘ncimmiḍḍiati dû Kuwait ‘nzina l’Iraq

and instead of gold the frozen crock’s	E ‘ncanciu d’oru a cascia jer’attippata
crammed with Mankind on the rocks,	ccu Umani nte rocchi,

the congealed geni who won’t thaw	U giniu ‘ncugnilatu ca ‘n si squagghia
until the World renounces War,	‘nzina ca u Munnu n’arrifiuta a uerra,

cold spunk meticulously jarred	Sburra fridda , i pillicusi a ‘mbuattaru
never to be charrer or the charred,	pp’un essiri ma’ abbruҫiaturi o abbruҫiatu,

a bottled Bethlehem of this come –	Na Betlemmi ‘mbuttigghiata d’un millenniu
curdling Cruise/Scud-cursed millennium.	jastimiatu di Cruise/Scud c’a pizzuḍḍiatu a vintura

I went. I pressed REWIND and PLAY	Mi ni ji. ‘Mmaccai “VA ARRERI” e “SONA”
and I heard the charred man say:	E sintii l’omu abbruҫiatu ca diceva:

All the subsequent notes are from prof. John Patrick Leech, confirmed associated Professor of English Language and Culture at the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna [1] The charred Iraqi is ready to give his testimony through the pen, though he does so instead by giving an “exclusive interview” with the poet, chosen because he can give expression to the “frightening mask”. The charred Iraqi is thus a voice which speaks from beyond the grave, like Virgil for Dante or like the dead German soldier in Wilfred Owen’s ‘Strange Meeting’ ‘Strange Meeting’ [2] War journalism and journalism in general is characterized by the desire for exclusive interviews. Imagine the scoop to get the real story from an Iraqi soldier, and a dead one too. Tony Harrison’s poetry itself is linked to journalism: his poem appeared, on his insistence, in the news (rather than the literature) section of the Guardian. He was subsequently sent to Bosnia in 1995 specifically to write poems about the war. Tony Harrison is thus a “war poet” in a very special sense, with a job similar to that of a “war correspondent”. [3] The first lines of T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Journey of the Magi’ (“A cold coming we had of it/Just the worst time of the year/For a journey ...”) gave the title to Tony Harrison’s poem and appeared at the head of Harrison’s poem when it was originally published. Harrison gives Eliot’s first words a sexual sense, and this is typical of his iconoclastic treatment of some of the accepted canons of English literature. Harrison’s poem, however, continues the sense of the cold and unwelcome nature of the epiphany: in Eliot’s version an awakening to the cold difficulties of the Christian life; in Harrison’s the cold barbarism of the war in Iraq. [4] The Iraqi army used nerve gas during the war against Iran in the 1980s. [5] last rhymes with gassed in Tony Harrison’s Yorkshire accent. See his poem ‘Them and [uz]’ if you want to enjoy Harrison’s attacks on Received Pronunciation, which he throws “into the lap of dozing Daniel Jones”. [6] The technological sophistication of the Americans enables them to be immortal – or at least to procreate after death. The rest of us are “stuck with sex”. [7] But the poet’s job is to do just this: to look into the frightening mask, the “gaze of the Gorgon” and be able to speak, to reach the warring nations with the soldier’s testimony. [8] The American soldier watches television – but also fires his weapons through monitoring the target on a screen? [9] “to show them that you are angry with them, either by telling them or by using physical force” [AM: INFORMAL, RUDE] (Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners). An expression beloved by George Bush Snr. with regard to Iraq [10] “GOTCHA” (= got you, “preso”). This was the full page headline of the Sun newspaper in 1982 “celebrating” the sinking of the Argentinian ship the Belgrano during the Falklands War. The Belgrano was in fact sailing away from the hostilities and was outside of the 200-mile exclusion zone proclaimed by the British. 323 Argentinian lives were lost. In the British general election of 1983, an independent candidate stood against Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister during the war, in her constituency, Finchley, for a party ironically named “Belgrano Blood Hunger”. [11] Tabloid newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch well-known for its large headlines in bold type. [12] The “Desert Rats” was the name given to the British 7th Armoured Division in North Africa during the Second World War, commanded by General Montgomery. [13] “Desert Storm” was the name given to the military campaign of the US against Iraq in 1991. [14] In the voice of an advertiser. [15] During the 1991 war, the Iraqis fired 39 Scud missiles into Israel in an attempt to draw it into the conflict. The missiles resulted in some damage and a few casualties. [16] Notice the direction that the charred Iraqi is facing – away from Kuwait and the conflict, towards Baghdad. [17] The sacred mosque of Mecca. [18] The ark of the covenant, sacred to the Jews [19] Christian and Muslim symbols respectively. [20] The retreating Iraqi army set fire to Kuwaiti oil plants before leaving. The result was immense clouds of smoke from burning oil

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