THE DAY OF A TREE

 1 — It begins with the ants, a black earthworm with lots of feet, lots of workers who begin to work.

2 — A still sleepy wasp goes off “route” and gets caught up in the slimy trail of a snail.

3 — A “furry cat” stretches out on the stem of a yellow daisy.

4 — A ladybug twirls her wings to loosen its bones.

5 — At mid-morning a bee entangles himself in a bud that has not yet blossomed and pollinates himself completely.

6 — A cricket rubs its antennae against a bushel of mint.

7 — A couple of May bug “tourists” relax as they wait for the next flight.

8 — Towards mid-day a group of ants, little ants on a wedding trip, glide into the “hygrangea” hotel.

9 — In the forest of nettles a striped spider dangles waiting for the blue fly.

10 — In the hottest hour an earthquake shakes the newborn birches, a lizard like a giant reptile, terrorizes the warrior ants.

11 — The breezy butterflies suck nectar from pistils and “frolic” from flower to flower.

12 — At country time a distracted dragonfly brushes up against a golden fly who redirects onto a stag beetle. The ants fall into their convoy carrying the load of a day of research.

13 — The next rendezvous is the big blue-meadow concert.

14 — At the ivy club the “cicada jazz” band plays.

15 — The owl soloist performs at the old elm.

16 — Grand finale with the blue-belle fireflies who play the fantango of the night. The last moth gets lost in the dark.

Translated by Allison Grimaldi Donahue 

Some elements of the text have been modernized in translation to fit in our contemporary context, particularly the language surrounding race. While Vicinelli’s text does not use offensive language it does use dated terminology—this translation attempts to utilize the language Vicinelli herself might have used if writing today. 

Thanks to Archivio Patrizia Vicinelli for permission to use these materials.