SE QUESTO E' UN UOMO
WHETHER THIS BE A MAN OR NOT

You, who live safely
In your lukewarm houses
Who returning home find
hot food and the faces of friends
think, whether this is a man
who works in the mud
who doesn't know peace
Who fights for half a loaf
who dies from a yes or a no.
thnk whether this is a woman
Without hair or name
empty eyes and cold womb
like a frog in winter
think that this has been.
I commend these words to you.
carve them into your hearts
at home or in the street
at your going down and your getting up
tell them to your children
or may your home crumble
and illness beset you
and may your children turn their face from you.