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Title: Africa Orrenda

Author: Mario Rapisardi

Release date: November 26, 2008 [eBook #27334]

Language: Italian

Credits: Produced by Carlo Traverso, Emanuela Piasentini and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
(This file was produced from images generously made
available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AFRICA ORRENDA ***

AFRICA ORRENDA

AFRICA ORRENDA

VERSI
DI
MARIO RAPISARDI

CATANIA
NICCOLÒ GIANNOTTA, Editore
Via Lincoln, 271-273-275 e Via Manzoni, 77.

1896.

PROPRIETÀ LETTERARIA

Catania—Tip. Lorenzo Rizzo, piazza Spirito Santo, 19-20-21-22.

PER L'ECCIDIO DI DÒGALI

Giù dai ghermiti scanni,
Razza maligna, inetta,
Che fra venali inganni
Pompeggiandoti abjetta,
Raccogli infami frutti
Dal disonor di tutti!

Ah! non bastò di questa
Patria incestare il seno?
La veneranda testa
Premer di giogo osceno?
Offrir nudo il materno
Fianco al barbaro scherno?

Ond'ella, a regnar nata,
Con tremulo ginocchio
Segue, putta spregiata,
Il tenebroso cocchio,
Su cui breve fortuna
Due manigoldi aduna.

Misera, e invan tu speri
Con civettar codardo
Da regj masnadieri
Impetrar tozzo o sguardo:
Ahi! con viltà e misfatti
Onta e miseria accatti,

E stragi. Oh desolati
Campi! Oh cori d'eroi
Nell'alta ombra gittati
Non da voi, non da voi,
Avide di rapine
Ferrigne orde abissine,

Anzi da te, nefando
Vecchio, che sol per cieca
Libidin di comando
L'italo onor con bieca
Mente fidando ai ladri.
Le fiche a Italia squadri.

Qual dall'immane insulto
Pregio o vendetta? Arcigna
Guata Albione; occulto
L'ire fomenta e ghigna
Il dèmone sinistro,
Che la Sprea move e l'Istro.

Dal vigilato covo
L'orgoglio ibrido freme,
E al cor d'Italia novo
Tesoro e sangue spreme:
D'orbe fidanze gravi
Salpan ferrate navi.

Brillan su la guernita
Tolda gl'itali figli,
Cui tarda espor la vita
Ai perfidi perigli,
Che coi predoni a gara
La terra e il ciel prepara.

Volate, o generosi
Figli, all'infausto lido;
Turbate i sanguinosi
Ozj allo stuolo infido,
Che su la strage inulta
Ebbro di sangue esulta.

Vincete. Oh scarsa, incerta
Vittoria! Ecco, dal grembo
Della sabbia deserta
Strano improvviso nembo
Sorge, e in ferina guerra
Il vessil nostro atterra.

Voi là nel baluardo
Ultimo accolti, invano
Con ansioso sguardo
Tentate il mar lontano,
Se a voi pochi e mal vivi
Patrio soccorso arrivi.

Ma per l'immensa arsura
Delle voraci arene
Solo la Febbre, oscura
Liberatrice, viene;
E in voi dall'ignea bocca
Funesti aliti scocca.

Ahi, nè certezza o speme
D'onore o d'util nostro
Lenirà l'ore estreme
Del sagrificio vostro,
Non le cure affannose
Delle imprecanti spose.

Ben presso al limitare
Della fredda quíete,
Sorger fra cielo e mare
Un'alta Ombra vedrete,
Squallida il seno, indoma
Ancor che oppressa, Roma:

E non per questo, o amati
Petti, pietosa grida,
Reggendo a infaticati
Studj con alma fida,
Il braccio armaste e il core Di ferro e di valore!

Ardea nelle capaci
Menti un'altera idea:
Piombar serrati, audaci
Su la grifagna rea,
Che l'ultima latina
Terra aduggiando inquina.

Oh per le Giulie vette
Pugne! Oh piani fumanti
Delle nostre vendette!
Oh entusiasmi santi
Di dar la vita a patto
Del fraterno riscatto!

Popol, cui spada e mente
Da servitù redime,
Non peregrina gente
Mercanteggiando opprime;
Ma libertà, per cui
Vive, fa vita altrui.

Cada chi primo in petto
L'obliqua smania accolse,
Onde al natio ricetto
I vostri animi tolse,
E li scagliò in lontane
Piagge a conquiste vane!

Lui non amor di fama,
Non furor d'alte imprese,
Ma insidiosa brama
Di rei traffichi accese;
Nè l'empia sete or langue
Per mareggiar di sangue.

Ma se ancor nei gentili
Petti la patria spira,
Se da computi vili
Non è sedotta l'ira,
Che in un'ora d'ebbrezza
Catene e scettri spezza;

Se non per gioco ho cinta
La mia terza corona,
Se la mia gloria estinta
Non è tutta, nè suona
Obbrobrio il nome mio;
Se Roma ancor son io,

Troppo alle tue volpine
Arti, o fatal, durai;
Sopra le mie rovine
Assai ghignasti, assai
Fu il danno e la vergogna:
Carnefice, alla gogna!

(Genn. '87).

ESPIAZIONE

I.

Chi è, disser, costui, che solitario, altero
Sul nostro capo il verso empio saetta,
E su la gloriosa luce del nostro impero
L'ombra sua getta?

Chi è costui, che i tetri sogni sferrando a volo,
Come falchi addestrati in noi li avventa;
E di amor, di giustizia all'affamato stuolo
Parlar si attenta?

Torbido evocatore di pazze ombre, l'abisso
O non vede o non cura a cui cammina:
Con l'occhio, acre di febbre, all'orizzonte fisso,
Ecco, ei ruina!

E noi frattanto in aurea rete impigliamo il biondo
Amore e l'affoghiamo entro al bicchiere;
Noi ci tiriamo dietro inguinzagliato il mondo
Come un levriere.

Che importa, se al nostro uscio Lazzaro derelitto
Frignando invidj a' nostri cani il pranzo?
Avrà, quand'ei non sia ad alcun Fascio ascritto,
Pur qualche avanzo.

Che ci fa, se a quest'ora al suon della mitraglia
Nel ribelle Tigrè riddi la morte?
Terran le nostre schiere, in qual che sia battaglia,
Fronte alla sorte!

Pugnate, eroici petti, cadete; ad una voce
Noi gridiam «Viva!» e alziam colmo il bicchiere;
Le vostre salme avranno la medaglia e la croce
Di cavaliere.

L'onor della bandiera val bene una tal guerra;
Chiedon vendetta i nostri morti; e poi
L'ufficio glorioso d'incivilir la terra
L'abbiamo noi!

Gli Abissini, si sa, son predoni, selvaggi,
E con loro bisogna esser maneschi;
Trucidar donne, vecchi, fanciulli; arder villaggi...
Viva Radetzki!

In ogni caso, giova a noi, spiriti fini,
Mandar la calda giovinaglia a spasso:
La guerra a chi la plètora ha d'odj cittadini
È un buon salasso.

Urla, profeta nero, i tuoi strambotti audaci
All'egre ciurme ch'aízzando vai:
Noi delibiamo intanto con labbra arse da' baci
Reno e Tokai!

II.

Non ei però si arresta. La pensierosa faccia
Torce da lor, qual da bruttura, altrove,
Mormorando con voce ch'è fede, e par minaccia:
Eppur si muove!

Diritto, nella tragica sera che preme il mondo,
Strali e sogni vibrando all'età rea,
Passa incontaminato tra 'l bulicame immondo,
Non uomo, Idea.

Volano a lui dintorno dagli spazj stellati
Corruscanti fantasmi, ignee chimere,
Fronti di lauro cinte, petti di palma ornati,
Falangi austere.

Ah! non hai tu, regina, cui Dante un trono eresse
Sovra i popoli tutti, a Dio vicino,
Tu, nel cui core eterno di tutto il mondo lesse
Vico il destino;

Tu, santa, cui Mazzini invocava in ginocchio
Nel freddo esilio; tu ch'a' più begli anni
Schiacciavi, del Nizzardo sotto al fulmineo cocchio,
Sette tiranni;

Non hai tu, donna, or ora a turpi sgherri in braccio
Inebbriati di poter maligno,
A chi diceati: «Pensa!» gittato in volto il ghiaccio
Del tuo sogghigno?

Non hai tu, che d'oltraggio le pure anime cibi,
Negato il pane al Giusto, il culto al Vero,
Per onorar l'Inganno, per ingrassar gli Scribi
Del vitupero?

Difeso col tuo nome, del tuo pallio coverto
Chi fa dell'are tue bisca e bordello?
Chi, più che penna o spada, è a maneggiare esperto
Il grimaldello?

Profuso oro a' bertoni d'Astrea fatta baldracca?
Procacciato a Bonturo onor divino?
Scolpito in marmi e in bronzi (oh Giusti!) la guarnacca
Di Truffaldino?

Non hai tu, barcheggiando su le calde fiumane
Del pianto, druda delle altrui vendette,
Scagliato ai derelitti, che ti chiedeano pane,
Piombo e manette?

Non hai, madre, sofferto ch'a' tuoi sacri captivi
Fosse un raggio di sole anco vietato?
Non hai tu su la fossa dei tuoi martiri vivi
Cancaneggiato?

Ed ecco, or nell'ecclissi del tuo giudizio, alata
Furia al tuo capo la Giustizia romba;
E l'Espiazione, vermiglia aquila irata,
Sopra a te piomba!

Oh fragor d'improvvisi sdegni e d'immani lutti,
Dal ciel, dal mar, dalle cruente arene!
Oh suon misterioso di palpitanti flutti:
Ecco, ella viene!

Sostano a' campi avari, alle officine, intorno,
L'opere in minacciosa alta quíete;
L'austero Etna nevoso, che si arrubina al giorno,
Viene, ripete.

Dalle reggie pollute, dai trafficati altari
Sorgono al casto cielo ululi immensi;
Mandano le severe Alpi a' bollenti mari
Fraterni assensi.

O monti, asceti assorti nello splendor del Nume,
O flutto uman cui la speranza investe,
O dei cieli e dei cuori interminabil lume,
Voi mentireste?

(Genn. '96).

DOPO LA SCONFITTA

I.

Finchè briaca alla caterva sozza,
Che nell'obbrobrio e nel dolor l'atterra,
Porge Italia le groppe, ella che mozza
Agli apostoli il grido e i polsi inferra;

Finchè il turpe delirio in lei non langue
Di rei conquisti e di vendette oscene,
E tributo alle nostre esauste vene
Osa chiedere ancor d'oro e di sangue;

Finchè la Frode, ire affilando e spade,
Di mercate lusinghe il vulgo impregna,
E all'Abissin, cui la capanna invade,
L'infamia nostra e il nostro eccidio insegna;

Finchè, tra un baccanal d'anime guerce,
La Sconfitta e la Resa in Campidoglio;
L'Onore in ceppi, il Vituperio in soglio,
Ludibrio il Dritto, la Giustizia merce;

Lungi da questo sciagurato suolo,
Lungi dall'età rea sorga il poeta:
Liriche strofe, liberate il volo
A ciel più puro, a regíon più lieta.

A che turbar dei bellicosi ladri
L'animo pio con misurati pianti?
O cari petti giovanili infranti,
È troppo che su voi piangan le madri!

II.

Ove andrem noi? Sangue e miseria intorno
E fango. Oh ferrea notte
D'Europa! Oh immani lotte
Di truffatori! E ancor lontano è il giorno.

Gitta la vaticana Idra la squama
Fra' mal guardati avelli,
E gl'incauti ribelli
Affascinando, il nostro esizio trama.

La jena di Stambùl, di terror folle,
Nel sanguinoso mare
Galleggia, ove affogare
Invan l'inglese mercator la volle.

Ecco, il deforme orso del Volga accampa
Sul provocato lido,
E con geloso strido
Porge alla rea l'insanguinata zampa.

Ma la francesca Libertà bastarda,
Che, le adipose cuoja
Date in custodia al boja,
Tutto vende ghignando e tutto infarda,

Indarno al Papa ed allo Czar gl'immondi
Quarti lambisce abjetta:
Giù nell'ampia belletta,
Ond'ora ingrassa, è forza pur che affondi.

Squassa il Leone castiglian la giuba,
E ruggendo si scaglia
Ove in armi travaglia
La invan contesa Libertà di Cuba.

All'auree vene del Trasvallo intanto
Calano in tetri giri
Gli europei vampiri,
Che di civile sapíenza han vanto.

O Civiltà, se messe altra non dài
Che di sì tristi allori;
Se agli aspettanti cori
Fuor che stragi e miseria offrir non sai;

O che le armene piagge, o che la vetta
Dell'Amba orrida innostri,
Co' tuoi bugiardi mostri,
Perfida Civiltà, sii maledetta!

III.

Oh agreste pace, candido
Regno dei buoni! Come fiamma viva
Agitata dal turbine,
Su l'età sfatta il gran Giudizio arriva.

E tu prima il benefico
Passo n'udrai, tu dal giaciglio fondo
Sorgerai prima, o triplice
Roma, cuore d'Italia, amor del mondo.

Ecco, ove un tempo il bufalo
Torvo sguazzava, e tra paduli morti
Serpean le Febbri, il florido
Lavoro avviva di Feronia gli orti.

Quanto vigor di giovani
Cori, asserviti all'Ignoranza e al Fasto,
La burbanzosa Ignavia
Gittava all'Ozio e alla Lussuria in pasto;

Quanto tesor di valide
Braccia, in miserie apriche, in odj bui,
Tingea con folli audacie
D'innocuo sangue il vituperio altrui;

Quanti all'altar cadeano
D'un bronzeo nume in sanguinose gare,
O di miseria indocili
Fuggían maledicendo il patrio mare,

Oggi a' nuraghi inospiti.
All'ardue Sile, alle insalubri chiane
Un salutar diffondono
Fiume di redentrici opere umane;

Che, propagate in fervidi
Commerci, ignari di gelosi insulti,
Fan che redento a' secoli
L'immenso core della Terra esulti.

Stendi l'oblio su l'umile
Mia fossa, o generosa itala prole;
Ma sul tuo capo indomito
L'alta speranza mia splenda col sole!

(Marzo '96).

Prezzo di questo opuscolo Cent. 70

OPERE DELLO STESSO AUTORE
vendibili
NELLA LIBRERIA EDITRICE DI NICCOLÒ GIANNOTTA

Palingenesi, Canti X, seconda edizione-Milano, G. Brigola, editore, 1878 | L. 3 —
Ricordanze, Versi, terza edizione-Torino, K. Loescher, editore, 1881 | »  4 —
Catullo e Lesbia, Studii-Firenze, Successori Le Monnier, 1875 | »  4 —
Lucifero, Poema, quarta edizione illustrata.-Roma, E. Perino, editore, 1887 | »  4 —
La Natura, (lib. VI) di T. Lucrezio Caro, trad., seconda edizione, con prefazione di G. Trezza.-Torino, E. Loescher, editore, 1882 | »  5 —
Giobbe, trilogia, seconda edizione-Catania, F. Tropea, editore, 1884 | »  5 —
Versi scelti-Milano, E. Lombardi, editore, 1888 | »  4 —
Elegie-Livorno, F. Vigo, editore, 1889 | »  2 —
Le poesie di Catullo, integralmente tradotte-Napoli, L. Pierro, editore, 1889 | »  2 —
Il Prometeo liberato di P. B. Shelley, trad.-Palermo, G. Pedone Lauriel, editore, 1892 | »  2 —
Giustizia, edizione di lusso, con ritratto dell'autore.-Catania, N. Giannotta, editore, 1882 | »  2 —
Giustizia, terza edizione popolare, riveduta dall'autore.-Catania, N. Giannotta, editore, 1892 | »  0 50
Empedocle ed altri versi.-Catania, N. Giannotta, editore, 1892 | »  2 —
Atlantide, Poema-Catania, N. Giannotta, edit., 1894 | »  4 —
Leone, Dialogo in versi-Catania, N. Giannotta, ed., 1894 | »  1 —
Le Poesie religiose, nuova edizione accresciuta—Catania, N. Giannotta, editore, 1895 | »  1 50
XX Settembre, Ode-Catania, N. Giannotta, edit., 1895, | »  0 50
Per la venuta de' Gesuiti, Versi-Catania, N. Giannotta, 1895 | »  0 30
Opere, definitivamente ordinate e corrette dall'autore. |
     Vol. I-La Palingenesi-La Francesca da Rimini-Le Ricordanze-Catania, N. Giannotta, ed., 1894 | »  4 —
      »    II-Il Lucifero e le Epistole-Catania, N. Giannotta, editore, 1895 | »  4 —
      »   III-Il Lucrezio, l'Ode al Re e la Giustizia | »  4 —

In corso di stampa

Opere, Volume IV-Il Giobbe e le Poesie religiose.

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