FREEDOM

Freedom

We Gypsies have only one religion: freedom.
In exchange for this we renounce riches, power, science, and glory.
We live each day as if it were the last.
When one dies, one loses all: a miserable caravan just as a great empire.
And we believe that in that moment it is much better to have been a Gypsy than a king.
We don't think about death. We don't fear it; here is all.
Our secret is to enjoy every day the little things
that life offers and that other men don't know how to appreciate:
A sunny morning, a bath in the spring,
the glance of someone who loves us.
It is hard to understand these things, I know. One is born a Gypsy.
It pleases us to walk under the stars.
They tell strange things about Gypsies
They say they read the future in the stars
and that they posses love potions.
Most people don't believe in things they can't explain
We instead don't try to explain the things we believe in.
Ours is a simple, primitive life.
It is enough for us to have the sky as a roof,
a fire to warm us,
and our songs, when we are sad.

Spatzo (Vittorio Mayer Pasquale)In the language of the Estrekarja Sinti, spatzo means "baby bird" or "sparrow", a nickname that recalls the sense of liberty often celebrated by this poet who along his life has experienced very bitter periods of suffering. Through his poetry, in opposition to the adversity of his fate, Spatzo shows us that he knew how to keep intact the Romani love of things simple and immediate.