With that iffy face
that iffy expression
we have before leaving for Genoa
and every time we wonder
whether that place we are going to
will swallow us and we'll never come back.
Yet we are somehow related
to the people there
and deep down they are as cantankerous as we are
but we are very afraid of that black sea
that moves even at night and never stands still.
Genoa for us,
those who live deep down in the countryside
those who rarely have the sun shining on the town square
and for the remaining time are drenched by rain
Genoa, as I was telling you, is just one of many ideas.
Ah, la la la la la
But that iffy face
that iffy expression
we have when we observe Genoa
and every time [we go there] we sniff it
we move cautiously
we feel a little like stray dogs.
A lull 1, a monkey, light and folly
a haze, fish, Africa, sleep, queasiness, fantasy...
Meanwhile, in the shade of their closets
they keep linens and old lavender.
Let us go back to our thunderstorms
in Genoa every day is exactly the same.
In the motionless countryside
with the rain soaking us
red prawns are a dream
and the sun is a yellow flash on the windshield...
With that iffy face
that iffy expression
we have, having seen Genoa...
1. "Macaia" is a Genoese word for humid weather with overcast sky typical of the Gulf of Genoa