Poem
Predrag Lucić
Man Is Not a Bird
I spin this story in my head about Siljan the StorkWho is both here and there
As I walk towards the cape of Konjsko
Hoping for a trophy shot
Of the only European pelican
Naturally they don’t let me come too close
Chirping “Birdy!”
They wave to me from the distance instead:
Regards from the Lake of Prespa
But I am neither Siljan nor a stork
I am neither here nor there
I am nowhere to be precise
I can neither swim nor fly
Neither of the two
As I’m neither a rosy pelican nor an ordinary one
As un-nestled as I am
I’m trying to figure out what Frans Lanting
Tim Laman
Quinton and Nigge
And all those folks
Who take pictures of birds in flight
For National Geographic
Might do in a moment like this.
And how much salt they carry with them
To sprinkle on the birds’ tails
© Translation: 2007, Damir Šodan
Siljan Roda, or Siljan “the Stork”: the hero of a Macedonian tale who left his home only to end up shipwrecked in some faraway country where he was transformed into a stork, destined to spend the rest of his life on the chimney of his house watching his family, who as unable to recognise him.
Čovek nije tica
Čovek nije tica
Vrtim priču o Siljanu RodiKoji je i tu i tamo
Dok gazim ka rtu u Konjskom
Da uslikam trofejnu fotku
Jedinih europskih pelikana
Oni naravno ne čekaju
Da priđem blizu
I “Ptičica!” kažem
Iz daljine mi krilima mašu
Puno pozdrava s Prespanskog jezera
A ja ni Siljan ni Roda
Nit sam tu nit sam tamo
Baš nigdje
Ni da poletim ni da zaplivam
Ništa
Ni nesit ni pelikan
Pa takav nigdjevan mislim
Šta rade Frans Lanting
Tim Laman
Quinton i Nigge
I sva ta škvadra
Što snima ptice u letu
Za National Geographic
Koliko soli sa sobom nose
Da je pticama stave na rep
© 2007, Predrag Lucić
Poems
Poems of Predrag Lucić
Close
Man Is Not a Bird
I spin this story in my head about Siljan the StorkWho is both here and there
As I walk towards the cape of Konjsko
Hoping for a trophy shot
Of the only European pelican
Naturally they don’t let me come too close
Chirping “Birdy!”
They wave to me from the distance instead:
Regards from the Lake of Prespa
But I am neither Siljan nor a stork
I am neither here nor there
I am nowhere to be precise
I can neither swim nor fly
Neither of the two
As I’m neither a rosy pelican nor an ordinary one
As un-nestled as I am
I’m trying to figure out what Frans Lanting
Tim Laman
Quinton and Nigge
And all those folks
Who take pictures of birds in flight
For National Geographic
Might do in a moment like this.
And how much salt they carry with them
To sprinkle on the birds’ tails
© 2007, Damir Šodan
Man Is Not a Bird
I spin this story in my head about Siljan the StorkWho is both here and there
As I walk towards the cape of Konjsko
Hoping for a trophy shot
Of the only European pelican
Naturally they don’t let me come too close
Chirping “Birdy!”
They wave to me from the distance instead:
Regards from the Lake of Prespa
But I am neither Siljan nor a stork
I am neither here nor there
I am nowhere to be precise
I can neither swim nor fly
Neither of the two
As I’m neither a rosy pelican nor an ordinary one
As un-nestled as I am
I’m trying to figure out what Frans Lanting
Tim Laman
Quinton and Nigge
And all those folks
Who take pictures of birds in flight
For National Geographic
Might do in a moment like this.
And how much salt they carry with them
To sprinkle on the birds’ tails
© 2007, Damir Šodan
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