You whose hands are more innocent than mine

It is said that the greatest loves are often tragic. When I think of love stories, I often think of Vesna Parun, a Croatian poetess, and one of her poems in particular. It is a poem that Vesna wrote to the wife of the man that was her only love and it is  the most tender of poems that I have ever read. This poem has been translated by many, but today I have felt like translating it myself.

You whose hands are more innocent than mine, poem by Vesna Parun

You whose hands are more innocent than mine
you  who is  as wise as the complacence itself.
you who can read better than myself
loneliness from his forehead
You who can chase away
from his face
the slow shadows of doubt 
like the spring wind chases away
the shadows of clouds over the hill.

If your embrace gives courage to the heart,
and your tights end the pain,
if your name is the heaven
to his thoughts, and your throat 
shade to his resting place
and the night of your voice
an orchard 
still untouched by storms. 

Then stay by him
and be more devoted than any
that had kissed him before you.
Fear the echoes that approach
the innocent beds of love.
and be tender to his dream,
under an invisible mountain
at the edge of the roaring sea.

Walk his shore. Be met
by the saddened dolphins.
Roam his forest. The friendly lizards
will do you no harm.
And the thirsty snakes that I had tamed
will be humble before you.

May the birds that I had kept warm sing to you
in the nights of hard frosts.
and may you be caressed by the boy 
that I had protected from the spies on an  empty road.
May you enjoy the fragrance of the flowers
 that I had watered with my tears.

I am not there to meet the most beautiful age
of his manhood. His fertility
I have not taken into my bosom
that  has been ravaged by the stares of 
cattle drivers on the fairs
and by greedy outlaws.

I will never take by the hand
his children. And the stories
that I have prepared for them long ago
perhaps I will tell  to the poor little bears
left over to the black forest. 

You whose hands are more innocent than mine,
be tender to his dream,
that has remained innocent.
But let me see him
his face as the unknown years
decent on it. 

And tell me sometimes something about him,
so I don't have to ask strangers,
that wonder at me, and the neighbors
that pity my patience.

You whose hands are more innocent than mine,
stay by the head of his bed, 
and be tender to his dream! 

Comments

  1. Bome si si dala truda, svaka cast...divno zvuci i na engleskom!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. svakako divno zvuči ...baš me nešto raznježi.

      Delete
  2. Many thanks for translation, dear Ivana, this poem is really touching! And I´m so impressed by the wonderful landscape which you show here in the post <3

    xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena

    www.dressedwithsoul.blogspot.de

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  3. Breathtaking views!!:)

    mykindofjoy.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ne znam da li je lepša pesma ili taj pogled! Nemam reči!
    Upravo sam ti odgovorila na pitanja u postu o nagradi :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. thanks for the sweet comment on my blog! I like your blog, I like your style, everything is fine!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful photos Ivana. You look amazing.
    Miss Margaret Cruzemark
    http://margaretcruzemark.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ciao Ivana! E' un poema bellissimo e le foto sono stupende, mi piace molto l'ultima. Buona serata, un bacio!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm still impressed by the fact that you a professor and even translating wonderful poems. Thank you a lot for being so creative and talented introducing us to Croatian poetry! I must confess I love your blog more and more day by day;)
    oh, I also want to mention those photographs are so beautiful!
    Have a fabulous time!

    www.svetusvet.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful photos and post, dear Ivana!!!
    Have a wonderful weekend!! and my g+ for you!!!:)))

    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥

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  10. Hello my dear friend Ivana,once again amazing photos!you are looking great sweetheart!!wish you a beautiful weekend!
    http://shoppingtherapy153.blogspot.gr/

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  11. Fabulous place. It is so beautiful :)

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  12. Bellissimo luogo! Che meraviglia :D

    C'è un nuovo outfit sul mio blog, fammi sapere cosa ne pensi <3
    ARMOIRE DE MODE

    ReplyDelete

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All your comments mean a lot to me, even the criticism. Naravno da mi puno znači što ste uzeli vrijeme da nešto napišete, pa makar to bila i kritika. Per me le vostre parole sono sempre preziose anche quando si tratta di critiche.

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