I AM ASHAMED
In silence I’m ashamed to cry
Like a willow by the bogs!
I want nonstop to roar sky-high
Like an oak on mountain tops!
On the trees all of the swallows
Let not tweet aloud for me
But from all my own hollows,
Let the vultures watch and see!
Let my boughs as a strong tree
Shake in winds above all,
Without stopping over me
Let the virgin snow fall!
Upon ices cold and blur
To the clouds I will keep climbing,
I won’t care if it occurs
To be stricken by some lightning!
If I am to be burnt out
I’ll be burnt on mountain tops,
I won’t cry, I’ll speak aloud
Ne’er lay low by the bogs!
Translation from Albanian into English
by Alfred Kola
