Rita PETRO - Poetry

Perfection

God... male

In his tear he created the world.

World... female,

In her pain she reached perfection.

[from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 3. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Would it be love?

Would it be love

If the body were composed

Of but flesh and blood?

Without those wonderfully

Curving forms

In the penumbra?

Without the fire-bearing bows on eyes

Lending the blood its heat

         and pulsation?

Would it be love?

[A do të ishte dashuria, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 4. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

The last gate

I have flung open the gates

                                 to my soul,

Only one I keep closed,

The last gate.

There linger the angels,

There loiter the devils.

If you approach the angels,

You will make me your slave,

If you approach the devils,

You will become my slave.

The last gate will remain closed.

[Porta e fundit, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 5. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

We drank coffee

We drank coffee

The grounds remained at the bottom of the cup,

We smoked cigarettes,

The ashes remained in the coffee grounds,

We spoke words

My voice lingered in the empty glass,

We did not make love,

My hope remained at the bottom of my heart.

[from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 6. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

You did not understand me

No, I did not long for you

As fire does wood

To turn it to ashes,

I did not pursue you

As a beast does its prey

To make it its prize.

I was a cry

In the face of silence.

I am off now,

"Good night"

Wailing and whining

In the dark.

[Ti nuk më kuptove, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 7. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Thirst

If life were

A glass filled to the brim

I would drink it down in one gulp.

[Etja, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 10. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Leave me as I am!

Leave me as I am,

If sleep finds me between those trees,

Even though I am only half-dressed,

Leave me as I am!

The trees and I

Love to dress and undress.

They do it in front of the sun,

I do it in front of you.

[Lermë kështu siç jam, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 11. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Kiss me

Kiss me, my beloved,

In the nape of my neck,

There, where the thread of life

Is at its thinnest.

Look how it strains

With the anguish of waiting,

With the boiling of blood,

With a hesitant call.

If you are late,

The thread will break.

[Puthmë, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 13. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

When others love us

When others love us

We coddle ourselves with our hands,

When we love others

We coddle ourselves with their hands.

[from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 14. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Until the morrow

Twelve hours,

Twelve mountains

Separated me

From seeing you until the morrow.

Impatient, I rode on the flanks of time

With a little whip,

With a big whip,

I lashed the back of the bay horse.

Its gallop resounded in the still of the night

Until I reached the first peak,

But I wanted it to cross two, three,

Ten mountains at once.

The streaks I left on its body

Oozed blood.

I woke up...

Outside the window, dawn was scarlet red.

Oh, God!

Two mountain-hours kept me from you

With lightning bolts' bloody lashes.

                                 on my back.

[Deri nesër, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 15. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Without you

In this house

Empty and freezing,

Only your jacket

Affords me any heat.

[Pa ty, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 22. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

Do not demand any promises

Do not demand any promises,

Promises like keys can be lost,

Do not demand constant love,

Eternity and the shadows of death lurk nearby,

Never demand any unsaid words,

Words mean no more than objects.

Demand only that I change one moment

In your long life.

[from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

To a poet

How did you catch my eye so suddenly,

Together with the wind, the flowers, the trees,

Together with the song, the river, the sea,

Together with hope, pain and laughter?

You caught my eye so suddenly,

Or were you there from the start?

[Poetit, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 25. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

This love

This love

Has inflated my breast,

But there is little air around me.

This love

Has given me the heavens,

But my window is so small.

This love

Demands that I surrender my all

But the fear of sin

Is as old as the world itself.

Help me, oh God, to understand,

Does this love cut off the shackles

Or put them on?

[Kjo dashuri, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 26. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]

The child and us

My child,

Your child,

Our child

Has taken its first steps.

My child,

Your child,

Our child

Has learned to run.

My child,

Your child,

Our child

Has arisen and gone.

We have grown old!

[Fëmija dhe ne, from the volume Vargje të përfolura, Tirana 1994, p. 27. Translated from the Albanian by Robert Elsie]