Losing Italy

Tomatoes! But Pliny, you won't eat tomatoes. Does this mean you tried the bean soup?

Certainly not, I am merely reminding you that the recipe for bean soup generally includes tomatoes. They give it a more appetising colour. One does not always need to taste a dish to detect that something is missing. How is your poem, by the way, have you finished the second verse?

Yes, do you want to hear it?

Please.

Alright, the second verse goes like this:

Alors tu m'ecrivais enfin
De la famille, amies, copain,
Petits enfants, les belles vacance
En Espagne, en Italie, en France.

Hmmm, said Pliny. I don't know much French, but I think I understood the last line. What is your translation?

Sometimes you would write to me
Of friends and boyfriends, family,
Grandchildren, and the grand romance
Of holidays in Spain and France.

What happened to Italie? asked Pliny.

I had to leave it out. Scansion.

Why not leave it out of the French?

Then that wouldn't scan. And besides, she did go there. What do you think of it otherwise?

I think, said Pliny, that your translation must be very loose, but that does not much matter. More importantly, it lacks colour, like your soup. However, it is only the second verse, there is still time to add a bit more pepper.