Nema te 100 godina bre

I am getting to the end of an insanely busy period, the beginning of which coincided with the Blogger meltdown in early March. Expect regular posting to resume in the next couple of days. Aside from travel, regular work-type work, and nonwork-type work, Mrs Ethnia and I have been working on a book translation which has to be done today. A part of that translation is the introductory poem, which was a pretty difficult piece of work. We are pretty well pleased with how it turned out (must work on emulating rhythm, however), though Mrs Ethnia is fonder of the poem itself than I am. For your pleasure, the original followed by our translation:

Momčilo Nastasijević
MISAO

1
Tišinom čudno
sve mi zasvetli, -
krilata pohodi me ona.
Nerođenih zora
zapoju mi petli;
sa dna iskon-mora
potonula, čujem, bruje zvona.

2
Raduj se,
svemu si spona,
pokoji u tebi svi žive.
I duša
tuzi što sklona,
i prazninom što
dani zasive,-
u pohode to sprema ti se ona.

3
I čudom,
u neprohod me spletu,
putanje isprave se krive;
i radosnica suza
orosi me kam.

4
I kroz golet me, u mahu,
dah zastruji aprila.
U samoći to
ne ostadoh sam:
tajno je kroz potaje moje, znam,
noga njena bila.

5
I nespokoji
u pokoj svi ožive.
Sa bezdan sa izvora
Poteku vode svete.
Blage od srca srcu
vesti polete.

6
Mreži to, i pauku,
zlosluto što je plete,
prisniva se svila.
Duši to,
svetli za let,
tajno izrastaju krila.

7
Tišinom čudno
sve mi zasvetli,-
krilata pohodi me ona.
Nerođenih zora
zapoju mi petli;
sa dna iskon-mora
potonula, čujem, bruje zvona.




Momčilo Nastasijević
THOUGHT

1
Silently, strangely
everything lights up for me,
winged she pursues me.
Of unborn dawns
roosters crow to me;
from the depths of ancient seas
sunken bells tolling I hear

2
Rejoice,
You bring together every thing
all the peace lives in you.
And the soul
inclined to sorrow,
with days graying
from emptiness,
awaits your attendance.

3
And miraculously,
though tangled where I cannot pass,
twisted paths straighten out;
and tears of joy
soften the stone

4.
And through the cliff, at once,
the breath of April streams.
In that loneliness
I did not remain alone:
Secretly through my hiding places, I know,
her foot has crossed.

5
And all my troubles
come alive in tranquility.
From abysses, from springs
holy waters course.
From heart to heart
the gentle message flies

6
To the web, and to the spider,
who weaves it with dread
dreams of silk appear.
To the soul,
lit up for flight,
wings sprout unknown.

7
Silently, strangely
everything lights up for me,
winged she pursues me.
Of unborn dawns
roosters crow to me;
from the depths of ancient seas
sunken bells tolling I hear