Poems by Mihail Rendzov  

DIFFERENCES
 
There is a difference between trees:
A tree with a nest
And a tree without a nest.
 
In the nest joy is hatched
And enters us
The tree without exists only to make a difference.
 
There is a difference between blades of grass:
A blade with a bug
And a blade without a bug.
 
The bug buzzes
And inhabits our ears
The blade without exists only to make a difference.
 
There is a difference between men:
There is a man with sadness
There is a man without it.
 
The man without sadness is you
And the one with sadness is me
 
I exist only to make a
Difference.
 
5.April 1985
 
Translated from Macedonian by Zoran Anchevski
 
56.
 
I’ve been marked with a sign, with streaks,
Looked for by angels
Who unite above me, raising me up
In towering altitudes, in radiant heights,
 
They sing to me and admire me,
Prayers and songs they give me
And ascend in peace and tranquility.
Quietly they sing to me, admiring me.
 
Songs and peace shelter me,
Perching at my soul, lying down,
stopping at my heart.
 
Next to the sign I’ve been marked with
And left amazed and alone
For angels to extol me.
 
Translated from Macedonian by Vladimir Cvetkoski
Proofread by Morgan Shnier
 
 
 
 

Mihail Rendzov (1936) – poet, essayist and short stories writer. Author of over twenty poetry books and has made significant poetry translations into Macedonian, including the Sumero-Babylonian Epic Gilgamesh. His poetry has been translated into several languages. He is a winner of the most important awards for poetry and translation in Macedonia, as well as international poetry awards. Moreover, he has received the state award for life's work. Mihail Rendzov is a member of the Macedonian Writers’ Association and the Macedonian PEN Centre.


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