Jugoslavija

Evo kako je počela u dan svoje nužnosti

Sve što nema vatre u sebi sagori

Što sagori postaje noć

Što ne izgori rađa dan

Treba zapaliti sve što može da gori

Treba srušiti sve srušivo, sve što nije večno

Treba u svemu i posle svega pronaći nadu

Revolucijo, ono što ostane je čovek

Ono što prođe je prošlost

Prošlost koja ne prođe je budućnost i budnost

Svaka stvar svaki čovek je detalj tvoje nade

Evo tako je počela u dan svoje nužnosti

Obala jednome Moru

Zvezda na Poluostrvu

Rt Dobre Volje

Oivičena beskrajem

Savetuje plodovima ljubav i razum

U fabrikama ljudi konzerviraju sunce

Koje se javlja na najrazličitije načine

U plodu i kamenu podjednako

Prvi put slatko drugi put vrelo

Sada ima sve što je njeno

Na jugu More na severu oblake

Na istoku trešnje na zapadu maslinjake

I sazvežđa nad Fruškom, zvezdane strofe najlepše

U kamenu i na vodi:

Grozd je uspomena na njihov raspored

Ima svoju budućnost i njenu prošlost

Ima svoj put i njegovu istinu

Savetuje plodovima ljubav i razum

Obala jednome Moru

Zvezda na Poluostrvu

Rt Dobre Volje

Oivičena beskrajem

Tuđa presahlost bi joj izvore otrovala

Tuđe pustinje klevetaju njeno sunce i zemlju

A ona bez milosti prema onome što je stvarno

Ali ne i istinito, ne prestaje da se bori

Srce njenih gradova je belo sunce svih ljudi

Ona uči gradove da budu braća Velikome Gradu

Koji venčava Šumadiju i Zagorje

Međusobno i sa budućnošću

Istraživači pod zemljom, u smrti, vojnici i rudari

Istraživači u vazduhu,pevači i ikari

Istraživači pod vodom, pesnici nesvesnoga

Tražite, nađite, pretražite sva blaga,

Sve mogućnosti i sva imena svome Jugu

Koji savetuje plodovima ljubav i razum.

Yugoslavia

Here’s how she[1] came to be on a day of her urgency

All that lacks fire within itself burns out

What burns out becomes night

What burns not gives birth to a day

All that can burn should be lit on fire

All that is not eternal, all that can be destroyed, should be destroyed

Hope should be found in all after all

Revolution, what remains is a person

What passes is the past

The past that does not pass is the future and wakefulness

Every person, every thing, is a detail of your hope

And that’s how she came to be on the day of her urgency

Shore to one Sea

Star on the Peninsula

Cape of Good Will

Outlined by infinity

She recommends love and reason to the fruit

In factories people are canning the sun

Which appears in the most versatile forms

Equally in fruit and stone

First time sweet, the second time hot

Now she owns all that belongs to her

Sea at the south, clouds at the north

Cherries at the east, olives at the west

And constellations above Frushka[2], the most beautiful starry verses

In stone and on the water:

There is a cluster of memories of their layout

It has the future and her past

It has the path and its truth

It recommends love and reason to the fruit

Shore to one Sea

Star on the Peninsula

Cape of Good Will

Outlined by infinity

Foreign drought would poison her springs

Foreign deserts would slander her sun and land

She is merciless towards that which is real but untrue,

She does not give up the fight

The heart of her cities is the white sun to all the people

She teaches cities to be brothers to the Big City

Which marries Shumadia[3] to Zagorye[4],

To each other and to the future

Explorers underground, in death, soldiers and miners

Explorers in the air, singers and icaruses[5]

Explorers under water, poets of subconscious

Seek, find, search through all the treasures,

All the possibilities and all the names to your South

That recommends love and reason to the fruit.

(Translated by Aleksandra Milanović)

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[1] Note from translator: In Serbian language nouns have grammatical gender, and “Yugoslavia” is feminine. I debated for a long time if I should translate it as neutral (“it” instead of “she”), which would be more in spirit of the English language. I finally decided to keep the gender because of Miljkovic’s between-ode-and-a-love-poem tone. Word “country” is not mentioned once in the poem, and if title was removed, it would be difficult to imagine that poem is not about a woman. In addition, heavy use of personification (and gender determinants that go along with it) insinuates that poem is about a woman actually - perhaps mother nature, with all its abundance, strength, righteousness, omnipresence, and inevitability. I believe that if gender was omitted in translation, meaning and emotions of the original poem would be lost. ~ Aleksandra Milanovic

[2] Frushka (originally Fruška) refers to Fruška Gora (pronounced [frûʃkaː ɡǒra]) – a mountain mostly located within Serbia, but a smaller part located on the territory of Croatia. “Sometimes, it is also referred to as jewel of Serbia, due to its beautiful landscape protection area, nature and its picturesque countryside.” ~ See Frushka Gora page on Wikipedia for more.

[3] Shumadia (originally Šumadija) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from šuma 'forest'). The region is very fertile, and it is known for its extensive fruit production (apples, grapes, plums, etc.)” ~ See Sumadija page on Wikipedia for more.

[4] Zagorye (originally Zagorje) - refers to Hrvatsko Zagorje (pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskɔː zǎːɡɔːrjɛ]) “a region north of Zagreb, Croatia, which comprises the whole area north of Mount Medvednica up to Slovenia in the north and west, and up to the regions of Međimurje and Podravina in the north and east. Croatian people usually refer to this region as "Zagorje", a word which literally means "trans-mountain area", "beyond the mountain" (with respect to Mount Medvednica)”. ~ See Zagorje page on Wikipedia for more.

[5] Refers to Icarus from Greek mythology, but since Miljkovic uses lowercase and plural it creates an original term that conveys the idea of persons who are and do as Icarus is and does (people who are alike Icarus). I was debating if Icarus in plural should be Icari. I translated it as “icaruses” for now, but might decide otherwise on a later date. Feedback is always appreciated.