A Poem
1.WheneverThe glittering celestial bodiesGenerously gifted us rays of light,Just as oftenWe, the torn-jacketed earthlingsFed the greedy onesWith frantic applause,With delirious cheers…
2.WheneverHungry through the decadesWe swallowed our dreams while dozing…Just as oftenWe always rushed like madmen,To please our LeadersWith heated applauseWith crazy cheers.
3.WheneverWe blindly walked barefootOn paths and pathless ways, thirsty to rise in life,Just as oftenWe, the empty-gutted and cracked-lippedNever stopped offering the “Big Shots”The plumpest of applause,The noblest of cheers.
4.WheneverWe were trampled name by nameAnd felt our chests cracking,Just as oftenThe shameless ones without heart or soulGorged themselves on the crowdWith endless applause,With forceful cheers.
5.WheneverAs workers, farmers, and herdsmenWe groaned, drenched in sweat,Just as oftenOh, how exemplary we appeared,To satiate the cruel party-rulersWith explosive applause,With thundering cheers.
6.WheneverAs students and soldiersStanding at attention in classic ranks,Just as oftenWe hurled toward the charlatan superiorsUnstoppable applause,Surging cheers.
7.WheneverWe, kicked by murderous kickersRaised our voices over the savage snarls…Just as oftenWe faced the barbarian persecutors,Who forced us to grant them applause,Who urged us to let out cheers.
8.WheneverWe toiled gasping in mass labor drivesWith songs in our mouths… even in exhaustion,Just as oftenWe felt vilely violated,Without daring the slightest “whisper”.Because only applause was demandedBecause only cheers were desired.
9.WheneverConcerts and festivals were contrived,And our “Prophets” allowed no “cracks”;Just as oftenOh, what dictates upon rhapsodes and singers!Only hymns for the Epoch and the First of the First…Everything had to close with applause,And necessarily with cheers…
10.WheneverWe recall the harsh Dictatorship,That propaganda, that babble…Just as oftenWe squeeze our memory like never before(The system couldn’t grow without leeches and spies)The regime couldn’t stand without applause,Applause had no meaning without cheers.
11.WheneverViolence from above increased the pressure,And with extortion and poverty added to our exhaustion,Just as oftenIn our imagination we broke shackles and chains,We ignited strikes, protests, uprisings.We turned our eyes from the East to the West,To save our palms from applause,To free our throats from cheers.
12.These daysWe almost thought the “climate” had changedAnd pathetic vices wouldn’t rear their heads again…As alwaysThe fog lifted, but the frost remained.We have filled the squares with ralliesWhen politicians have gathered us apart and together,When we have welcomed friends from abroad.And flags, oh so many flags in our hands,But mostly foreign flagsand multicolored party flags,They are suffocating the national bannerAnd beneath the flags, only applause,And beneath the flags, only cheers…
13.WheneverThe land and water routes punish us…we lack drinking waterand prices know only how to climb;Just as often,We run after the leaders of political partiesWe run with applauseLike in the old days, and with cheers.
14.WheneverEvery corruption grinds our souls and pockets,We lack electricity and work;Just as oftenWe ignore the suffering, and… without askingabout the most vital shortages,we rush like madmen through squares and halls,where we hear deceptions, lies, and fairy talesAnd we accompany them with applauseNecessarily, and with the unforgettable cheers…
15.WheneverCrime and masked men blacken our lives.and bribery dries up our “wallets”;Just as oftenWe congratulate party members and rulers,As if drunk on a magic potion…Thirsty for applauseThirsty for cheers.
16.
These daysWe expected: applause-and-cheersto remain as rudiments.Enough… we and the regime lied to ourselvesThey stayed under our feet… But why, I wonder?A wise saying explains it:“Though the hair’s color may quickly fade,The habit is never fully unmade…”That’s why the applause doesn’t cease,That’s why the cheers don’t cease.
17.
AlwaysWe, the proud ones of the fiery-hearted Eaglehave been the unyielding, growing in pride..But oftenIt’s unclear how we alter like never beforeand return as if by a magical lureto the fantastical applause,to the utterly pointless cheers…
18.
FinallyShouldn’t we steer ourselves away from follies?Shouldn’t we look forward into freedom and light?For all timeLet us rest our poor palms,Let us free our wretched throats.Without falling into the “trap” of Olympian calm:Enough with the stale applause!Enough with the delirious cheers!Only… there and then, when needed,let us let them out with energy!
Epilogue.
And why not save our emotionsfor the Eagle’s vital flights?But, however..Only when we have health, peace, prosperity,But, however,when in suffering Albaniawe see and know only ascentswithin the present FREEDOM…
July-August 2008
Tercets for the Spring of KONCKA(By Jorgo S. TELO)
Babble beneath the stones, oh Spring,Never cease your murmuring!Beside you I became a man…
With that water of silver,God’s blessing carved you here,In this place, at the foot of a cliff.
My village, Koncka beneath ThargThrough the centuries rightfully boastsOf a SPRING and a ÇALAK…
This greenery that covers KonckaSeems to make the whole world jealous.What a marvel, to love the land!
If you love the land with all your soul,It grants you its miraclesAnd illuminates your life.
The land of Koncka—full of lifeWishes the Spring well for all time.They cannot be parted from each other.
With the Spring’s water in the summer,With the golden sweat of Koncka’s people,The land brings forth pearls…
I have woven songs for you too,Precious spring, water of gold!How I long to see you with my eyes!
If I remain in good health,And if this state fixes the roads,I will come more often and soon.
Babble beneath the stones, oh spring,You are a Holy Omen* for Koncka,May your song never cease!
*Omen = good fortune.
