Relax Bello-Inspired Maltese Poem On Dead Trees, Fatal Roads, And Environmental Disregard Strikes A Nerve
Maltese writer and poet Gabriel Lia recently penned a strikingly realistic Maltese poem on the current state of Malta’s urban and natural environment – and it has struck a nerve.
Empathising with the challenges Maltese citizens are currently facing, Lia’s latest creation referenced a number of ongoing issues, such as dead trees, fatal roads, and a complete environmental disregard.
This was all done while taking some inspiration from the ongoing reality show Love Island Malta, with each phrase of the poem starting with “Relax Bello” – a phrase that is becoming more and more used, even in the political sphere.
“I made use of satire so that people wouldn’t mind being critical and vocal about everything that is affecting them because passive behavior also fuels destruction,” Lia told Lovin Malta.
He satirically and almost sarcastically tells readers to; relax, if they’ve heard about the upcoming protest, relax, if you’ve heard about the latest dead trees, relax, if you don’t see a butterfly around anymore, relax, if you were just stuck in infernal traffic, relax, if you don’t even see the sun anymore, and so on.
He satirically and almost sarcastically tells readers to; relax, if they’ve heard about the upcoming protest, relax, if you’ve heard about the latest dead trees, relax, if you don’t see a butterfly around anymore, relax, if you were just stuck in infernal traffic, relax, if you don’t even see the sun anymore, and so on.
The poem goes as follows:
Relax bello, jekk smajt li ssejħet protesta oħra kontra l-isfreġju
Relax bello, jekk diġà qalu li s-siġar kienu morda
Relax bello, jekk farfett m’għadekx tara
Relax bello, jekk inqbadt fi traffiku infernali
Relax bello, jekk it-toroq saru fatali
Relax bello, jekk intossikat bid-dħaħen
Relax bello, jekk qed tħossok klastrofobiku… chill
Relax bello, jekk f’Kemmuna t-turisti jridu jixxemmxu fuq id-deckchairs
Relax bello, jekk it-turisti jridu jittawlu fuq il-ġmiel mit-torrijiet
Relax bello, jekk il-baħar sibtu mdardar bit-torba
Relax bello, jekk f’dis-sitwazzjoni tħossok żorba
Relax bello, jekk iż-żgħażagħ xebgħu… mhux jitilqu mill-pajjiż
Relax bello, jekk moħħok simentat b’dal-ideat
Relax bello, jekk qed temmen li int qed tkun realist
Relax bello, jekk veru trid tavvanza maż-żminijiet
Relax bello, jekk f’Malta m’għadekx tara d-dawl tax-xemx,
ftakar biss li hawn min għad ma jarahx wiċċ Alla.
Through his use of a catchy and seemingly viral Maltese phrase, Lia is also grabbing the attention of those who might normally overlook such issues.
He even mentions the fatal roads, the intoxicating fumes, and the bad air quality in urban areas, as well as the general feeling of claustrophobia.
In another brilliant piece of literature, Lia has once again tapped into the general collective feeling, as unrest within civil societies in Malta continues to rise.
Tag someone who would relate to this poem
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