ANN'S SONG (KËNGA E ANËS) - Poem by Petrit Ruka / Translated from Albanian into English by Alfred Kola

Poem by Petrit Ruka


ANN'S SONG

Ann was ripe on the branch like a quince
She caused a havoc in our neighborhood,
The boys of that time even I would mince
Each has a hole in heart since boyhood...

And when she was ripe like bunches of grapes,
On the road we stung our eyes to her breast,
She filled men's bed with bright ember shapes,
And women’s - with leeches overall at best.

Ann changed the seasons shortening her dress
She made you shiver under July’s vault.
The boys, like Mohammad, in fasting obsess
And men scolded women..."the dish had no salt!"

When the wind slipped under Ann’s thighs
Behind her the wet-grass scorched on the spot,
If her eyes caught you, was like the snake bites,
So death is honey-sweet as if from a shot,

Ann conquered the sleep, the sleep went away,
Her shoulders and eyelashes did thin the air,
The elders changed waters, a spring every day
And all boys became asthmatic everywhere.

Ann was ripe like a pomegranate or a quince
She caused a havoc in our neighborhood,
The boys of that time even I would mince
Each has a hole in heart since boyhood...
[i]

KËNGA E ANËS

Na ish pjekur Ana lart në degë si ftua
Mu në mes të lagjes bënte batërdi,
Djemtë e asaj kohe bashkë me mua
Janë me vrimë në zemër dhe tani…

Ana kur u poq si një vile rrush,
Gjinjtë e saj në rrugë ne na piqnin sytë,
Burrave ua mbushte shtratin plot me prush,
Grave - me shushunja gjer në grykë.

Ana ndrronte stinët me një cep fustani
Dhe të fuste drithmat në korrik.
Djemtë agjëronin si Muhamet Kurani
Burrat shanin gratë…"gjella është pa kripë!"

Kur i shkonte Anës era nëpër kofshë
Mbapa bar-i njomë bëhej shkrumb,
Po të kapte syr-i saj të kapte gjarpri,
Vdekja është si mjalti nga një plumb,

Ana kalbi gjumin, gjumi vate, shkoi,
Ajrin e rralloi me supe, me qerpikë,
Pleqtë ndrronin ujin, ujin e çdo kroi
Djemtë u bënë të gjithë si azmatikë.

Na ish pjekur Ana si një shegë a ftua
Mu në mes të lagjes bënte batërdi,
Djemtë e asaj kohe bashkë me mua
Janë me vrimë në zemër dhe tani…




Translated from Albanian into English by Alfred Kola