The Revenge of the Water

Frightened by the storm,
The bird fell prey to the eye,
After the struggle between water and fire

I fled to the mountains.

On the riverbank
The doe lies splayed,
Over it passes the lightning stroke.
In a sallow dot
Spread the wings of death
As the sheep bleat,
The wind grinds its teeth,
I stretch out my hands
Toward the fire.
Two eyes
Seek help from the torrent,
Down it flows into the river,
Alive, but assailed,
I am here at your hut, my son,
To tell you that the doe is dead.

[ Hakmarrja e ujit , from the volume Plagë uji,
Prishtina, Rilindja 1990, p. 48. Translated from
the Albanian by Robert Elsie]