Maturation
At that time, I was a high school boy,
who loved a girl with long black hair.
At times I frowned, I was pained or coy
Each dawn I waited for her over there.
She was frail at waist and hips
At least she understood a hundred-folds.
She’d put a smile on her red lips
She was summer and winter, hot and cold.
I said one evening: Lo! It is summer!
Then I embraced my dear moonshine.
And it was mine the people’s laughter,
Even the world seemed to be mine.
Something happened on Earth! we said…
and we reached out again to entwine.
She took her clothes and moved ahead
my early youth remained behind…
Translation from Albanian into English
by Alfred Kola
