Lime tree,
tree of perplexed joy
your blond mane
sweet-smelling skein
surprises me each time,
beloved intoxicating trap.
You who transformed my girlhood
into a light breeze of bliss
into lack of loneliness
Tree-Life
Life-Sign
picture worth skies of inexpressible knowledge
how can I grant you my reverence,
companion of forgotten youth?
In the wake of time I searched for you in the words of others:
tilo in Chapultepec, Mexico City,
lime tree in the speech of Dundee, in Berlin eternal Linden
unsmiling words on the face of one who lives far from you.
Our secret sharing has been sealed
on the fine parchments of your fluttering petals
ever since, like two lovers,
you embraced me and I embraced you, confused
by the wake of the past you proffered
like the lap of a mother shielding her child from harm.
What a lovely tale!
Lipa, moja lipa Slav,
mistral presence
with closed lids Ive found you
only in dreams
of my native town.
Note:"lipa" means "lime tree" in the Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian and Bosnian languages
translated by Brenda Porster