Italian Poetry

Paola, the manager of our school, had her birthday recently and we wanted to do something special for her, so we planned a surprise party.

Often to celebrate a special event we compose a series of limericks.  For Paola we decided to challenge ourselves by writing one in Italian – a feat we never imagined we would be able to accomplish! 

There were some aspects that made it easier:  most Italian words end in vowels that are relatively easily rhymed.  And there were some aspects that made it harder: most Italian words have many syllables – so many that one word alone can take up a whole line!  We can’t say the process was easy, but it’s not easy in English either.  Here’s what we came up with.  Suffice it to say we’re quite pleased with ourselves.

Ad Arezzo c’è una scuola

Il capo si chiama Paola

La gente che viene

Si troverà bene

Grazie a tutto quello che fa.

C’è tanto da organizzare

Ma Paola lo sa come fare

Il telefono squilla

Lei è sempre tranquilla

Un sorriso a tutti da dare.

Nuovi studenti sempre arrivano

Paola li mette a loro agio

Le lezione ed i libri

Anche gli appartamenti

Un buon benvenuto qui si troveranno.

Proprio oggi festeggiamo

Belle cose le auguriamo

Con i dolci e vini

Ed i grandi sorrisi

Le diciamo “Buon Compleanno!”

Here’s the translation in English – without the rhyme and the meter.

In Arezzo there is a school
The "boss" is called Paola
The people who come
Find themselves well situated
Thanks to everything she does.

There's a lot to organize
But Paola knows how to do it -
The telephone rings -
She is always calm
With a smile to give everyone.

New students are always arriving
Paola puts them at ease:
The lessons and books
And even the apartments -
They find a good welcome here.

Precisely today we celebrate.
We wish her good things.
With sweets and wine
And big smiles
We say "Happy Birthday!"