But no, that's still not
time. It's a certain place
which I recognize in space.
Dead are the mountains from which that word came.
Sphinx with a lying bird instead of a face which is defeated
by the secret behind a blind mask. Birth is the only hope.
I see brave bridges with no one to cross them.
May both you and your fate turned to a hill sleep, it's stiff
and in it dwells death and it doesn't save love.
You've made peace between the day and the night in your death which shines on us.
That dream, in the night, is an extension of the day and the road.
What are you, a bird or a voice which wanders
under the wild sky where the song left you all alone
on the top of Lovcen with your forehead full of sun, where
time doesn't exist, where a single yellow light
somewhere up there is saving the imprint of your face.
Man, secretly, the phoenix is the only true bird.
Translated by: Bogdana Petrović
Behind the poem
The grave on Lovcen is one of the seven poems from a cycle in Branko Miljkovic's first poetry book In vain I wake her called Seven dead poets. Each of these seven poems Branko dedicated to Serbian poets whose work he felt was extraordinary and influential. Those poets also have one more thing in common - they all died a tragic death.
This one is dedicated to Petar II Petrovic Njegos (or simply Njegos), the early 19th century Prince-Bishop of Montenegro who is, despite his twenty year reign, best known for his literary works. Njegos' works were heavily influenced by rich Serbian folklore, fueled with Serbian patriotism and wishes that the country be liberated from Turks. His poem-play Mountain wreath (Gorski vijenac) is considered one of, if not the most important piece of Serbian literature. Njegos died of tuberculosis in 1851 at the age of thirty-seven. Njegos had expressed his wishes to be buried in a chapel on Mount Lovcen, which he designed himself. Because of various tensions which shook Montenegro and Serbia over the years, he had been reburied a couple of times, but today Lovcen remains his resting place.
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| Branko Miljkovic |
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| Njegos |
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