“O, time, thou fleeting tyrant, who shall restore
Those seasons lost, when days were as glass and sand?
Who shall reclaim the passion and the gesture bold,
The women and the songs that once my heart did hold?
The friends I lost, the books I devoured with zeal,
The joy of appetites that once did me reveal,
The healthy thirst of those who drank from life’s stream,
And blind faith in myths that once did my soul beam?”
(Francesco Guccini, Italian singer-songwriter)
(Trad. Roberto Grippi)
This is a poetic and nostalgic passage from a letter by Francesco Guccini, now 84, lamenting the passage of time and longing for the return of past experiences, emotions, and relationships.