Tuga u kamenu

Tuga u kamenu

Ni reč, ni stih, ni zvuk

tugu moju ne kaza;

A duge sveudilj neke

nebo i zemlju

spaja i spaja luk.

I krenem, i rodna kob

sve dublje me koreni.

I kriknem,

i u srce kao nož rođeni zarije se krik.

I krvlju tu pa tu

materom u krug.

A svićem sa zorama,

a s večeri setno

nestaje me za gorama.

I nemo iz tvari tugom

objavi se drug.

I tugom zacvrkuće tica

i zazeleni lug.

I sekira kad ljuto

zaseče dub;

i jagnjetu vuk, - kosti kad mlavi zub;

nemo sve svemu tugom

verni ostane drug.

Sloboda robu, - odbegnem daleko,

a sve dublje tu.

I blagoslov što grobu

kolevci prokletstvo neko, -

odužiti dug.

Sve zove, -

ostajem.

Korenom u kamenu

tuzi zatvaram krug.

Patniku iz tiha srca

to čudno pukne zore cik.

I čudno,

na ramenu sebi,

svetli svoj sagleda lik.

Ni reč, ni stih, ni zvuk

tugu moju ne kaza.

A duge sveudilj neke

nebo i zemlju

spaja i spaja luk.

Sorrow In Stone

Not word, nor sound, nor verse

Does tell about my sorrow

And a rainbow's bend, yonder               

Links and links heaven and earth

So I go, but native fate

Yet roots me even deeper

So I scream, but like a knife,

Digs into heart

Its own scream

And by blood here, still here,

Maternally in a loop

And I break with dawns

And in evenings, wistfully

Over the hills I dissolve

And mutely, from substance, sorrow

Itself a friend declares

And with sorrow chirps the bird

And the grove greens and sways

And a hatchet, when madly

Slashes an oak

And wolf to a lamb

Whose bones under tooth broke

Eeach to each, mutely, by sorrow

Remains a trusty bloke

Freedom to slave! I run far

But even more, I stay

A blessing what to a grave,

A curse to a cradle -

A debt to pay

Rooted deep into stone

I loop the sorrow's way

To sufferer, from silent heart

Strangely does break the dawn

And strangely, on his own shoulder

Bright figure he sees, his own

Not word, nor sound, nor verse

Does tell about my sorrow

And a rainbow's bend, yonder

Keeps linking heaven and earth

(Translated by Lazar Pašćanović)

The Sorrowful Stone

No word, sound, or verse

Can describe my sorrow;

And a rainbow's arc, yonder               

Links and links heaven and earth.

So I go, but native fate

Roots me ever deeper

And I scream, 

but a knife-like scream digs into my own heart

And by blood here, still here,

Maternally in a loop.

And I rise with the dawn

And in the evening dissolve

wistfully over the hills.

And from substance, sorrow mutely 

itself a friend declares.

And sorrowfully sings the bird

And sorrowfully the grove turns green. 

And when an angry hatchet

Cuts into an oak

And a wolf to a lamb

Grinding its bones with its teeth

Each to each, mutely, by sorrow

Remains a trusty friend.

Freedom to the slave! Far I escape

Yet even more, I stay.

And a blessing's to a grave,

As a curse to a cradle -

A debt to pay.

Everything calls - 

I stay. 

Rooted deep into stone

I loop the sorrow's way.

To sufferer, from a silent heart

Strangely does break the dawn.

And strangely, on his own shoulder

He observes his own light image.

No word, sound, or verse

Can describe my sorrow;

And a rainbow's arc, yonder               

Links and links heaven and earth.