The Boy in the Willow’s Shadow
Above the meadows of the forest, summer winds
And the scent of freshly cut hay fills the air, warm.
The stream flows clear; gently,
In a murmur.
The willow tree lowers its soft branches
Onto the meadow.
In the shadow of the willow stands a boy.
And he sings.
Dragutin Tadijanović
Slavonia
Old Slavonia reveals itself again
To a touched heart.
I listen… In the cornfield, a cricket sings
That harvest days are coming,
And that soon a brown hamster will
Come to the grain.
Along the path that leads across the field,
A distant woman walks with a bundle,
And she sings to herself, on the way,
A broad, drawn-out song,
Like this land that gave birth to her.
Dobriša Cesarić
Evening
Peace has fallen over the village… From the grassy crossroads below
The distant rumble of wheels can be heard more clearly.
Across the wide field path, the livestock returns from pasture,
And a dark shepherd can be seen waving his crooked staff.
The sound of hooves echoes heavily, a cloud of dust rises,
The gentle heads of the docile animals
Sway easily, often hiding the shepherd…
And then by the first houses, which They barely emerge from the darkness,
Two cows stray from the herd, and enter the yard on their own.
And just before the lonely threshold, they lift their heavy heads,
Then they call out to their own from the darkness with a long summoning cry.