INFLECTING HER NAME
A girl from Shkodra, I loved in my own
a distant love, out of fear,…
the words “love you”, heavy as stone,
I placed on my back and disappeared.
In remote villages, longing and bored
a pale teacher, sadness was my mate,
With her sweet name on the blackboard
I taught my students how to inflect.
About forty mouths, with my beloved name,
would drill nominative then possessive case,
tears in my throat, I could hardly frame
when they reached, in chorus, the vocative case…
Where is she now, drowsy as the Buna?
Pity to die without letting her know,
Perhaps a dream told her of my love
Of a thousand dreams I mailed, though…
Translation from Albanian to English
By Alfred Kola
