Asim Bajramović
Today I set out on the road toward Podubravlje,
past the forest, beneath the blue sky,
there beside the town of Zavidovići,
where a stone sphere has slept since time began.
----
So immense, silent, motionless,
beneath the Bosnian sky it has long been dreaming,
rains have washed it, winds have battered it,
yet it still keeps its secret hidden.
Stone sphere, tell us your secret,
the secret that the soul longs to know,
how many summers have you watched pass by,
and how many people have you outlived!
----
Of time itself, only a shadow remained,
you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust.
I stepped closer and touched it with my hand,
the stone was cold, yet my heart burned,
and I asked myself as I stood before it:
“Who created you, who could have made you?”
----
Perhaps the earth itself gave birth to you,
deep within its own bosom,
then time slowly carved you,
while endless centuries flowed by.
Stone sphere, tell us your secret,
the secret that the soul longs to know,
how many summers have you watched pass by,
and how many people have you outlived!
----
Of time itself, only a shadow remained,
you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust.
You have no voice, yet you say so much,
every crease conceals a trace of time,
a person passes, generations depart,
yet you remain, as though you were alive.
----
Today I came to visit you,
to see you and touch you with my hand,
to carry away a memory of my own,
and speak your name through song.
Stone sphere, tell us your secret,
the secret that the soul longs to know,
how many summers have you watched pass by,
and how many people have you outlived!
----
Of time itself, only a shadow remained,
you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust.
When one day the roads take me
far away from Bosnia and my homeland,
I will remember you, beauty of stone,
as the silent guardian of my native land.
----
May the sun warm you every morning,
may the Bosnian rain wash over you,
as long as Bosnia and Zavidovići endure,
may the stone sphere keep dreaming there.
Stone sphere, tell us your secret,
the secret that the soul longs to know,
how many summers have you watched pass by,
and how many people have you outlived!
----
Of time itself, only a shadow remained,
you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust.
Today I set out on the road toward Podubravlje, past the forest, beneath the blue sky, there beside the town of Zavidovići, where a stone sphere has slept since time began. ---- So immense, silent, motionless, beneath the Bosnian sky it has long been dreaming, rains have washed it, winds have battered it, yet it still keeps its secret hidden. Stone sphere, tell us your secret, the secret that the soul longs to know, how many summers have you watched pass by, and how many people have you outlived! ---- Of time itself, only a shadow remained, you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust. I stepped closer and touched it with my hand, the stone was cold, yet my heart burned, and I asked myself as I stood before it: “Who created you, who could have made you?” ---- Perhaps the earth itself gave birth to you, deep within its own bosom, then time slowly carved you, while endless centuries flowed by. Stone sphere, tell us your secret, the secret that the soul longs to know, how many summers have you watched pass by, and how many people have you outlived! ---- Of time itself, only a shadow remained, you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust. You have no voice, yet you say so much, every crease conceals a trace of time, a person passes, generations depart, yet you remain, as though you were alive. ---- Today I came to visit you, to see you and touch you with my hand, to carry away a memory of my own, and speak your name through song. Stone sphere, tell us your secret, the secret that the soul longs to know, how many summers have you watched pass by, and how many people have you outlived! ---- Of time itself, only a shadow remained, you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust. When one day the roads take me far away from Bosnia and my homeland, I will remember you, beauty of stone, as the silent guardian of my native land. ---- May the sun warm you every morning, may the Bosnian rain wash over you, as long as Bosnia and Zavidovići endure, may the stone sphere keep dreaming there. Stone sphere, tell us your secret, the secret that the soul longs to know, how many summers have you watched pass by, and how many people have you outlived! ---- Of time itself, only a shadow remained, you were left to Bosnia as a sacred trust.