La Romola

My name is Agatha. I was born and bred in the Poggetto,
The most miserable part of town.
My life spent in the back-alleys of Greppa and Camullia
In amongst people who were so poor they couldn't even count on bread.
Somehow I grew to be eighteen,
More for the grace of god than for what I put in my mouth.
I've seen women fight with spades and hay-forks,
I've seen grown men suckle at a woman's breast,
I've seen husbands needing to go out so their wife's lover could come in.
I've seen a man who ate after his wife and son
For fear they would knock him out,
I've seen people throw their mother down the stairs.
I've seen rapes.

And yet I'm still here and I can't complain.
There's always somebody giving me something.
This little broken dress comes from Mistress Rosa.

Excerpt from "La Romola" by Firenza Guidi.

First presented in Fucecchio (Fi)
Auditorium La Tinaia
Saturday 28 November 2009