Fount of our village
I.
Fount of our village, pure crystal water,
Bursting from the mount, humming like a trotter.
Go to get some water, maids from any place
Tufted handkerchiefs on the heads sideways;
Handkerchiefs in red handkerchiefs in white,
Their necks like a lily, lips just like a bud.
As they fill the casks, oh how nice the grace,
so they’re coming back with their bridal pace
On foreheads is shining star of holiness.
II
Fount of our village, dyed in silver hue
from the mountain side, faster running through.
Braves go to drink water over and anew
The skullcap with flowers, over eye askew.
The cleaner skullcap, or in blacken dye ,
Lips almost in laughter … or even in sigh…
Evenings when the water twitters like the birds,
The brave’s coming by, tell the maid some words:
Generous nice maid to fount coming by
As I greeted her, she got deeply shy
I lowered my head, her as wife to eye
III
Fount of our village, eight-pipe-water run
Of eight regions ranking the very first one
Unique in the world, no second comes by,
You heal our wounds, you heal our eyes.
Fount of our village, on brave mountain side,
flowing down so wildly, flowing down so quiet
as longing in bosom, heart so barren dried
Flowing down so wildly, flowing down so quiet,
like longing of maid burns in secret tide,
like longing of brave, that mightily cried,
like the very longing, never to have died.
Translation from Albanian into English
By Alfred Kola
