Nikola Martic - Poetry in Croatian and English - JCS 21

NIKOLA MARTIĆ

Born 1938

Born in Bosnia. His books of poetry are:

ZNAMEN [Symbol] 1968, SVANUCE DAVNINE [The Dawn of Remote Ages] 1975, POEZIJA [Poetry] 1980

HRVATSKA ZEMLJA TRAGIČNIH PJESNIKA	CROATIA THE LAND OF TRAGIC POETS
Vrijeme i prostor zasjedaju na stolici božanskoj, mene pohodi ruka tajnog ozarenja, providjenje— providjenje za sve one što su činili pokore i žrtvu: ljubav preuzimana i nošena kroz šumu vremena kao to malo cjelne vode i to malo svjetla na dlanovima	Time and Space are sitting on the divine chair, I am visited by the hand of the secret illumination of providence— the providence for all those who did penance and made the sacrifice: the love taken over and carried through time's forest like that trace of pure water and that trace of light on the palms of one's hands
Gdje je roblje prevezeno iz noči na krilima svanuta, gdje je — podno prozora naših šetaju se oleandri, i malo nočno cvijeće pjevajuti ustaje da slavi, o svitanju je riječ a i proljeće gazi preko uzvišenja, na vršku usnule krune cvijet nježniji od prapotela i ružičast pelud na usnama najmlade kćeri ljubavnice	Where are the slaves carried by the night on the wings of the dawn, Where are—under our windows the oleanders are taking a walk, and the little nightly flowers rise singing to celebrate, the talk is about the daybreak but the spring also treads upon the heights, atop the sleeping chalice the flower more tender than the element and the rosy pollen on the lips of the youngest daughter mistress
Budno je doba, tu ste, mrtvi moji druzi, baklje gore, stradanje zemno a sveto za mene je samo u oslobodjenju, oslobodjenje i vi bičevi duha visoko uzmahnuti, molim ti se Rodiljo majko i krotiteljko novih naraštaja, ne recite mi da sam onaj koji bezrazložno bdije, zar bih mogao opstati a da ne pjevam rasap i bluč	It is the vigilant time, all of you my dead comrades are here, the torches burn, The suffering of this world holy to me is only in the liberation, the liberation and you uplifted whips of the spirit, I pray to you Parent Mother and tamer of new generations, don't tell me I am someone who keeps vigil for no reason, could I exist if not to be the singer of destruction and abhorrence
Došlo je vrijeme kada dostojanstvo pjesme treba da se brani, i hoću, branit ću te ljudska bajko, Zoro na plandištima noći, gospodar riječi, a opijen tajnom koliko i svetotajstvom jave, evo meni se otvaraju nebeske dveri i zemaljska vrata: riječi umorne od duge upotrebe i zanemarene od ljudi nači će opet sretni alem sjaja u mojoj rečenici	The time has come when it is necessary to def end the dignity of the poem, and I will defend you, human legend, Dawn at the night's resting places, for me, the master of words, and drunk by the secret as well as by the sacrament of waking, look! for me the gates of heaven and earth are opening: the words, tired of their long use and neglected by people, will find again the happy jewel in my sentence
Nalik na usnu i razrez božanski, po put samog krvarenja — ulaz je u ovu pjesmu, ulaz je u ovu vladavinu riječi, tu traje šapat zore koja nikad svanuti nije mogla, još uvijek tu prebivaju one slavne stvari i poruke — sve što su ljudi u pozni čas od bogova preuzeli, to malo sjaja u boji gline, to malo rose u krošnjama, a na rubu sna prostor razlučuje uznesenje od pada, i vrijeme neopjevano razuzdava svoju ljubomornu glavu, udjite, udjite bez osvrtanja lijepi moji uzvanici, gosti, otvorena su vam širom vrata ove nijeme duše, nadahnute	Like a lip, and a divine incision, like bleeding itself — so is the entrance into this poem, the entrance into the realm of words, where the whisper of Dawn which couldn't dawn still lasts where those glorious things and messages remain all that the people in the latter hour received from the gods, that little splendor in the clay's coloration, that little dew in the crowns of the trees, and on the edge of sleep a space separates exaltation from the fall, and the unsung time unbridles its jealous head, let us enter, let us enter without hesitation, my beautiful visitors, guests, the door of this silent inspired soul is wide open to you
Aj, dušo, prijateljico moja, veće; od tajanstva ili zbilje, zar postoji neka vladavina tebi i meni nepoznata, udruženi opet, samozvani, bez straha od pada ili uskrsnuća, mi smo miris soli zemlje, miris joda uskriljen sa voda, i početak, onaj sretni spornen usred zaborava duha	Oh, my soul, my friend, larger than the mystery or the reality, isn't there some realm unknown to you and me, united again, we, uninvited, without fear of the fall or the resurrection, we are the scent of the salt of the earth, the scent of the iodine evaporated from the waters, and we are the beginning, that happy memory amid the oblivion of the spirit
I opet ugledasmo cvjetnu zemlju ljepšu odrodjenja, ugledasmo milu nam zavičajku jasniju od smrti, narod izgubljen pod vlasima postidjene zore još bdije tu, u posjedima nad kojima isto svoje zlatno perje širi	And again we glimpsed the flowery land more beautiful than birth, we sighted our beloved native land clearer than death, the people lost under the tresses of the timid daybreak still keep vigil here, over the possessions across which it spreads its golden feathers
Širi se vladavina onih što su nosili teret bičeva duha, u glini spava lice posvećene ljubavnice, bedro i vitica, svjetlost mozaika i munje laze rubom pritajenog pada, zaboravljena zora opet izgubljenim posjedima vlada, avaj — bič neba razdvaja i spaja dvije usne čedne, razdvaja i spaja, Zemlja Voda Plamen zamoljeni od duha da budu Jedno, jedno te isto je ovaj uzvišeni red stvari što plovi, i duša pozvana na seobu, nikad da se zaustavi u dvojstvu, tako se i sedam moćnih godilnjih doba pretaču u Jedno predvodjeni nekim tajnim znakom, svekriljenim valom, samo Vrijeme je Jedno — samo Prostor je Jedno	The realm is spreading of those who have borne the burden of the whips of the mind, the cheek of the devoted mistress sleeps in the clay, the thigh and the lock of hair, the light of the mosaic and the lightning creeps along the edge of the hidden fall, the forgotten daybreak again rules over the lost possessions, alas— the whip of the sky separates and unites the two shy lips, separates and unites, the Earth, the Water, the Flame, urged by the spirit to be One, one and the same is this sublime order of floating things, and the soul invited to migrate, never hesitating in the face of duality, thus also becoming One are the seven mighty reasons, led by some secret sign, an all-winged wave, only Time is One—only Space is One
I gle, na čednom uzglavlju zemlje uzdižu se plamenovi ruža, i zaljubljena žena opet svija svoje roditeljsko gnijezdo, milost, sveta ophodnico na pragovima našim, ah milost za sve one što su voljeli za doba poslije svoje smrti	And look, on the low pillow of land rise the flames of the roses, and the enamored woman again builds her parental nest, mercy, you holy caller to our thresholds, oh mercy for all those who have loved in the time after their death
A po obalama sredozemskim raste djevojatko cvijeće, srćica, pelagonija; veseli bog bilja uzdiže mirisne obrve, Ijiljanove usne — s nadom da je podre u namjerama — pohode buntovnu krajinu, svijet nemiran i sretan, evo diljem ruže procvjetale odjednom pa nizašto ne mare, perunika i kukuta svejednako uče bolest da smrt zdobidje, mimoza kupa svoje zrnaste cvjetiče u bojama ruja, podno kupola ružmarina, na domaku žive sjene mora uskriljena i prvozorskim suncem opervažena Hrvatska zemlja tragićnih pjesnika i lutalica širom svijeta.	And along the Mediterranean shores grow the maiden flowers, the cinquef oil, geranium the merry god of plants raises fragrant eyebrows, the lily's lips—hoping for support of its intentions- are visiting the rebellious region, a world, restless and fortunate, look! the roses suddenly bloomed profusely unconcerned with anything, the iris and the hemlock still teach sickness how to avoid death, the mimosa bathes its granular little flowers in the colors of the sumac, under the rosemary cupolas close to the living foam of the sea, arising with spread wings and adorned by the first sun of daybreak Croatia land of tragic poets and wanderers over all the world.
Toliko ljudskog smilja pokleklog na bedemima nade, još više djevojačke tuge pretočene u talice krina, al tu je i znak što podsjeća na one koji će voljeti — ljubav agave s horizontom dok zvijezda uranja u more, magnolije, otica što traži hladovinu čempresa i palme, čitavo to biljno mnoštvo s mirisom smirne i tamarisa	So much of human everlastings, kneeling at the bulwarks of hope, and more of maiden sadness, poured into tiny lily cups, but there is also the sign reminding us of those who will love— the love of the agave for the horizon while the star is dipping into the sea, of the magnolia, the scarlet pimpernel looking for the shade of the cypress and the palm tree, this entire vegetation with the aroma of myrrh and the tamarind
I čitava ta milost proročanski udružena sa Zorom, tamo gdje Rodilja majka čini naklon sretnom oticanju stvari.	and this total mercy prophetically united with the Daybreak, there where the Mother Parent is bowing down before the happy outflow of things.

TVOJE RIJECI U NAJLJEPŠIM LOMAČAMA DUHA	YOUR WORDS AT THE BEAUTIFUL IMMOLATION PYRES OF THE SPIRIT
Glasovi neba, čuli smo vas, zar to nisu zaboravljene pjesme naroda, zaboravljeno doba u naglosti prolječa	Heavenly voices, we heard you, aren't those forgotten songs of the nation, the age forgotten in the rashness of the spring
Slavne naše pjesme po zavjetnim medjama, i zvijezde dana vidjele su zastave vjetrova nad našim pustim domovima	Our glorious songs along the consecrated borders and the stars of the day saw the flags of the winds above our deserted homes
Smrt nas je pohodila, Evo, smrt nam je gost	Death visited us, look! death is our guest
Grobovi očeva u miro svjetlosti, i vode zavičaja u miri svjetlosti	The graves of our fathers in the peace of the light, and the waters of our native country in the peace of the light
Neka žive tvoje riječi u budučim pjesmama, tvoje slavne geste ljubavnice u mojim napjevima	Let your words live in future songs, your glorious deeds of our mistress in my melodies
Sinovi rodjeni u dobra narodnich nemira i kćeri rodjene u doba cjetve usjeva	The sons born in the time of national riots, and the daughters born in the time of the sowing of crops
Sve do sinje zemlje, tudjinske, gorjele su naše stope prognanika	Straight up to the greyish earth, alien, our exile feet were burning
Samo božanskom ćudi ljubavnica mogle su nas spasti naše dugokose majke, zaštitnice govora i loze običajne	Only through the divine nature of the mistresses were we saved by our long-haired mothers, the protectresses of speech and of established parentage
A cvijet javni sunce objašnjava	And the public flower is explaining the sun
Čuješ li glasovi noći u otajstvu doba, kao uzvanica pozna, drago vrijeme na pragovima	Do you hear, voices of the night, in the mystery of the age, like a late caller, dear time on the thresholds
Vrijeme proslavljeno prije nas, prije svih nas i tužnih pjesama, o nama.	The time glorified before us, before all of us and before the sad songs about us
Ne boj se, ako nas je nebo divno preskočilo u luku mi smo jedini koji to osječamo	Don't be afraid, if the divine heaven leaped over us like an arch we are the only ones who feel that
I največa istina živih za nas je tako beznačajna stvar.	And the greatest truth of the living ones is for us such an insignificant thing.