I remember my aunt Anka, the wife of my father's cousin Šime, from my earliest childhood. Year after year, we spent summers together, and hanging out in their family cottage near the sea in Krneza are wonderful moments that I gladly call to mind. Aunt Anka's children, Zoran and Marija, are a link to my father's birthplace, and I have a particularly tender friendship with them that, despite the fact that we are scattered around the world, has lasted for five decades.
My aunt Anka, in addition to being a retired classroom teacher, is also a poet. She published two collections of poems, and the second one called "Drops of Hope" was published recently in her eighty-first year of life. I am very proud of my aunt Anka and it was an honour for me to translate one of her poems “Roses with Thorns”, which I am transcribing here, into English with the help of my Sara. I believe that you will enjoy the wonderful verses that touch the soul and make you smile.
With love
Kristina
ROSES WITH THORNS
When distance embraces you,
your heart waits
in silence,
without words,
but I breathe you with my soul,
that counts the hours,
that pass by silently,
while the clock hands slide in a given rhythm,
as though upon some smooth
dance floor.
On this day,
when the rain drops
roll and walk headlong,
tripping over young magnolia leaves,
and the wind still plays in the leaves,
still singing
come to me...
Come to me
impatiently I wait,
for your hands
to connect around me
and that I sink into your embrace,
because you are my wall from all the winds,
because you calm me,
port safe.
With love you protect me,
you defend against time,
which brings everything
and steals everything.
Love still breathes in our hearts,
time has not
taken everything,
so along with thorns
it also sent roses.
Anka Zekanović
in 2020
Sunday, February 18th, 2024
“Kapljice nade” moje strine Anke
Moju strinu Anku, ženu tatinog rođaka Šime, pamtim još od najranijeg djetinjstva. Godinu za godinom provodili smo ljeta zajedno i druženja u njihovoj obiteljskoj vikendici nedaleko mora u Krnezi za mene predstavljaju divne trenutke koje rado prizivam u sjećanje. Djeca strine Anke, Zoran i Marija su poveznica sa rodnim krajem mog tate i za njih me veže posebno nježno prijateljstvo koje usprkos tome što smo se raštrkali po svijetu traje vec pet decenija.
Moja strina Anka je uz to što je umirovljena učiteljica razredne nastave ujedno i pjesnikinja. Ona je izdala dvije zbirke pjesama, a druga pod nazivom “Kapljice nade”je izdana nedavno u njezinoj osamdeset prvoj godini života. Jako se ponosim sa svojom strinom Ankom i bila mi je čast da jednu od njezinih pjesama “Ruže uz trnje” koju ovdje prenosiom prevesti i na engleski uz pomoć moje Sare. Vjerujem da ćete uživati u divnim stihovima koji dotiču dušu i mame topli osmjeh.
S ljubavlju
Kristina
RUŽE UZ TRNJE
Kad te daljina zagrli,
srce te čeka
tišinom,
bez riječi,
al' te dišem dušom,
koja broji sate,
što prolaze nijemo,
dok kazaljke klize u zadanom ritmu,
k'o po nekom glatkom,
podiju plesnom.
Ovog dana,
kad se kišne kapi
kotrljaju i bezglavo hode,
posrću po lišću mlade magnolije,
a vjetar u lišću još svira,
još pjeva,
da mi dođeš...
Da mi dođeš
nestrpljivo čekam,
da se ruke tvoje
oko mene spoje
i da u tvoj zagrljaj ja utonem sva,
jer si moja brana od svih vjetrova,
jer si meni smiraj,
luka sigurna.
Ljubavlju me čuvaš,
braniš od vremena,
koje sve donosi
i sve otima.
Još ljubav diše u našim srcima,
vrijeme nam nije
baš sve otelo,
pa nam je uz trnje
i ruže poslalo.
Anka Zekanović
2020.
Nedelja, 18. veljače 2024.
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