There are those people

Vinko Kalinić 12:09:00 0 comments Moje pjesme Poems (english) Translated by Darko Kotevski Vinko Kalinić

There are those people
totally common and small
and eternity is smiling through them
as it is mocking us

you meet them somewhere, God knows how
and you take them with you, so they can always be here
unknown, but absolutely yours
and when they’re not here, to be the reason
to your sadness and your happiness

you don’t even know who their fathers are
nor who their mothers are
nor what town they were born in
nor what God they are kneeling to

you, free of every memory
and remembrance
you take them of purely
as you take
the fragrance of the forest
or the sea

and you carry them
inside of you
with you
behind you
as your own shadow

on their faces you light up
your own mornings
and your own nights
burning their shadows
like when you light up matches
to stir up the fire and live coal
of your inner being

and when you put them down
and forget them completely
like you forget
marginal and immaterial things
- who knows how
who knows where from –
they come back alone
they reborn again

they just happen

without any motif
without any reason
without any goal

there are those people
totally common and small

and without them
we would never know
nor what is large
nor what is beautiful
nor what is foreign
nor what is ours

they just appear
to be here
to walk next to you

so we do not forget
that we are as well
just people

 

Vinko Kalinić

 
Komiža, September 08th 2010.

(Translated 

by Drako Kotevski)

Takvi su to ljudi

Takvi su to ljudi
sasvim obični i mali
a vječnost se kroz njih smije
kao da nam se ruga

sretneš ih negdje, pitaj Boga kako
a odneseš ih da budu uvijek tu
nepoznati, a sasvim tvoji
i kad nisu, da budu razlog
i tvojoj tuzi i tvojoj sreći

ne znaš ni tko im je otac
ni tko im je mati
ni u kojem su gradu rođeni
ni kojem se Bogu klanjaju

lišen svakog sjećanja
i pamćenja
poneseš ih čisto
kao što se nosi
miris šume
ili mora

i nosiš ih tako
u sebi
sa sobom
za sobom
kao vlastitu sjenu

o njihova lica krešeš
i svoja jutra
i svoje noći
paleći im sjene
kao što se pale šibice
da razgoriš žeravicu
svog unutarnjeg bića

i kad ih utrneš
i zaboraviš posve
kao što se zaboravljaju
sporedne i nevažne stvari
- tko zna kako
tko zna otkud
- oni se sami vrate
opet se rode

dogode se

bez ikakvog povoda
bez ikakvog razloga
bez ikakvog cilja

takvi su to ljudi
sasvim obični i mali

a bez njih
nikada ne bi znali
ni što je veliko
ni što je lijepo
ni što je tuđe
ni što je naše

samo se pojave
da budu tu
da hodaju pored tebe

da ne zaboravimo
kako smo i mi
ljudi

Komiža, 08. 09. 2010.


Vinko Kalinić



(Foto: William-Adolphe Bouguereau)