from Malli i Shqiperise
Te shkoj dua mbremjes ne rruget e Tiranes,
Ku kam bere dikur ndonje marrezi,
Dhe ne rruget ku skam bere asnje marrezi.
Me njohin ato porta te vjetra te drunjta,
Inatin akoma do ma mbajne,
Koken do ma tundin,
Por une s’do ta marr per keq,
Se malli me ka marre.
Dhe t’eci rrugicave plot gjethe te thara,
Gjethe te thara,gjethe vjeshte,
Per te cilat krahasimet gjenden aq lehte.
Me ka marre malli per Shqiperine tone;
Per ate qiell te madh,te gjere e te thelle,
Per vrapin e kalter te dallgeve adriatike,
Per rete qe ne muzg si keshtjella digjen,
Per alpet flokebardha e mjekergjelbra,
Per netet e neilonta,qe nga flladet fergellojne,
Per mjegullat qe si indiane te kuq muzgjeve
shtegtojne
Per lokomotivat dhe kuajt,
Qe te djersitur avullojne e hungerojne,
Per qiparisat,kopete dhe varret
Malli me ka marre.
Malli me ka marre,
Per shqipetaret.
Me ka marre malli dhe se shpejti vi atje,
Duke fluturuar mbi mjegullat,si mbi deshira.
Sa i larget,aq edhe i dashur je,atdhe.
Aerodromi do te dridhet nga uturima,
Mjegulla do te rrije pezull mbi humnera.
Ata qe shpiken shpejtesine reaktive
Larg atdheut sigurisht do kene qene ndonjehere.
Translations of this Poem
Longing for Albania
I long to stroll through the streets of Tiranë in the evening,
Where I used to get into mischief,
And through the streets where I never got into mischief.
Those old wooden doorways know me,
They will still hold a grudge against me
And will snub their noses at me,
But I won’t mind
Because I am filled with longing.
I long to stroll through the lanes full of dry leaves,
Dry leaves, autumn leaves,
For which comparisons can so easily be found.
I was filled with longing for Albania,
For that great, wide and deep sky,
For the azure course of the Adriatic waves,
For clouds at sunset ablaze like castles,
For the Albanian Alps with their white hair and green beards,
For the nylon nights fluttering in the breeze,
For the mists, like red Indians, on the prowl at dawn,
For the locomotives and the horses
That huff and puff, dripping in sweat,
For the cypresses, the herds and graves
I was filled with longing.
I was filled with longing
For the Albanians.
I was filled with longing and swiftly journeyed there,
Flying over the mists, as over desires.
How far and how beloved you are, my country.
The airport will tremble with the droning,
The mists will hang in suspense over the chasms.
Surely those who invented the jet engine
Must have been far from their country once.
About this poem
This poem, representing Albania, is part of The Written World – our collaboration with BBC radio to broadcast a poem from every single nation competing in London 2012.
