Poems by Miloš Djurdjević
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1.
WEST – EAST (after B. Brecht, Der Radwechsel) I had to step up at the far end of the Stone Bridge to climb on the left bank of the Vardar River why I have to remember stalls and vendors near the Triple Bridge in Ljubljana nasal voice of a young man on the middle bridge one moment he is a beggar then agitator and performer nervous and restless I'm thinking about all that again in almost empty bus as we are waiting for admittance on the border crossing Translated from Croatian by Tomislav Kuzmanović and the author 2. BALCHIK, OHRID, TRŠIĆ rain sunshine sunshine rain, three shiny blue slopes four surfaces of enclosed water, hundred paces around the stone fountain on the narrow plaza, Aziz is reading Arabic inscription, expiration date unlimited, shadow under the bridge is clearest and purest he said, just like the real estate office Bela, a slanted roof tarnished from rain repeats and follows administrative squiggles, patterns of the brittle pool, of dried ivy over there on the upper floor of nearby house, of the St Clements neatly combed beard, with his left hand holding the knot on his tunic and peacefully squinting in restored blue gloom, from below on the gravitation fresco can you see me? pointed spears and Roman colonnades support endless dusks in Varna, compact earthen floor sprinkled with water in the standard house with yard as dark as woods above seven portable falls by the road, corner desk quivers on square window, hardening on the sun like memorials imbedded in church façade, carved names repeat and retrace aloud stuttering of the dark dome, of the lake and puddle, sea and stream, lake and puddle, sea and stream Translated from Croatian by Tomislav Kuzmanović and the author 1. ZAPAD – ISTOK (povodom Der Radwechsel, B. Brechta) na kraju Kamenog mosta morao sam koraknuti kako bih se uspeo na lijevu obalu Vardara zbog čega sam se sjetio štandova i trgovaca pored ljubljanskog Tromostovlja unjkanja mladića na središnjem mostu čas je prosjak čas agitator i performer nervozan i nestrpljiv o tome opet razmišljam u polupraznom autobusu čekajući da nas propuste na graničnom prijelazu 2. BALČIK, OHRID, TRŠIĆ kiša sunce sunce kiša, tri blistave plave padine četiri površine ograđene vode, stotinjak koraka oko kamene česme na suženom trgu, Aziz čita arapski natpis i kaže da je rok upotrebe neograničen, da je sjena ispod mosta najjasnija i najčišća, kao i poslovnica Bela za preprodaju nekretnina, kosi krov potamnio od kiše ponavlja i prati administrativne vitice, raspored krtog bazena, osušenog bršljana ondje na gornjem katu obližnje kuće, uredno počešljanu bradu svetog Klimenta, lijevom rukom pridržava čvor pelerine i spokojno škilji u obnovljenom plavom polumraku, odozdo na freski gravitacije vidiš li me? uperena koplja i rimske kolonade pridržavaju beskonačne sutone u Varni, nabijeni zemljani pod tipske kućice u dvorištu poprskan vodom, taman kao i šuma iznad sedam prijenosnih slapova pored puta, klupa u kutu titra u kvadratu prozora, stvrdnjava se na suncu kao i ploča uzidana na fasadi crkve, urezana imena uglas ponavljaju i prate zamuckivanje tamne kupole, jezera i lokve, mora i potoka, jezera i lokve, mora i potoka |
Miloš Djurdjević, poet and literary critic, anthologist and translator. Among his recent books are a selection of poems entitled, Morse, My Deaf Friend (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2014), selected poems in bilingual, Croatian-Slovenian edition, Kreda in odtisi: izbrane in nove pesmi / Kreda i otisci: izabrane i nove pjesme [Chalk and Traces: Selected and New Poems], translated by Vera Pejovič and Peter Semolič (2019), Trgovački ratovi, prolaznici i srodne pjesme [Trade Wars, Passers-by and Related Poems] poems (2020), and Drugi pogled [Another View], literary criticism and essays (2023). His poems has been widely anthologized and translated into English, Slovenian, Arabic, Lithuanian, Slovakian, Greek and German. A recipient of fellowships at the Ledig House in New York State, the Civitella Ranieri Centre in Italy, Literary Colony at Tršić in Serbia, Miloš Djurdjević is also the International Writing Program (IWP) alumni. He lives and works in Zagreb, Croatia.
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