Merchants know their clients like the palms of their hands.
Little wonder we surprised the enoteca owner with our plan
To celebrate our anniversary with her best bottle of Amarone.
Once we explained, the owner showered the couple with candy.

Still ringing in my ears
Sustains a deep longing
To feel at home in mass.

Friends who are Catholic,
Not marked out of place,
Could go to S. Gregorio

Any given Sunday morning.
We keep our church going
Reserved for days of rest.

So the fire is out, thanks to the reactions of a brave neighbor,
And the fire chief and his crew are conducting the postmortem.

Appears as if two ash cans on la loro terrazza were the culprits.
Appeared as if i bambini outside alerted the adults to the blaze.

Much more to learn, as time goes on, and the language barrier is broken.
But one thing for sure: never has a more earnest sigh of relief been spoken.

Weekends, I have learned, have earned a special place in the hearts of Spoletini.
So it is no wonder that Umberto is finding it hard to find Ginevra’s replacement.

To wait on all sixteen of the tables at Osteria del Trivio is really tough on a girl,
Especially when the place is open six days a week, all the party nights included.

Time will tell what, if anything, comes of the interviews Umberto so far has held.
But more and more with the way Italian youth look at life, it’s a hard job to fill.

Or somewhere there abouts, once you take into account the metric conversion
Along with the subtle difference in translation between “a fourth” and “fourfold.”
That’s what we almost carried home from the market before we received foreign
Aid from a kind Italian diplomat who kept downplaying his command of English.