vrbas from Dunjaluk by Dunjaluk

vrbas voda nosila jablana
na jablanu kuje kujundžija

kujundžijo, tako ti zanata,
skuj ti meni od zlata junaka

nemoj plava, tako ti zanata,
već garava ko što sam i sama

...

vrbas voda hladna potamnila
bujice joj zelene oštrice

pa je vrba brigu zabrinula
virovi joj kose pomrsili

koga li će hladom ogrnuti?
pruža ruke, gluhe, željne, suhe

//

On a poplar tree carried by the river
a blacksmith is at work

Blacksmith, you’re a man of many talents
Would you forge me a man of gold?

Not a fair-haired one, if at all possible,
but a dark one like me
...
The icy water grows dark
its currents cut like green blades

The willow tree is worried stiff
her hair tangled in the whirlwinds

Whose shoulders will she hold in her shade?
Reaching her arms out, deaf, wanting, dry

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