Jasmina Hanjalić
(Bosnia-Herzegovina)
THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE
To love devotedly
The devoted one
Like the silk that warms the shadow
And chills the warmth.
To love persistantly
The persistant one
Like the winter nest
That still has a memory of its swallows.
To love faithfully
The faithful one
To stand the flame of temptation
To stand the fear from transency.
To love sincerely
The sincere one
For no truth lies in the fake wine
And without the truth time loses hope.
To love liberally
The liberated one
Without doubt, without intention and limit
But always having the bags packed.
(Translated by Ana Stjelja)
THE QUINCE TREE
This morning Father cut down the quince tree,
planted on my first day of school.
It was the only remaining tree
in our courtyard.
(He’d cut down the rest
when they’d stopped producing fruit.)
Up until last year, you could’vefelt its breathing
through the fragrance of the quinceslined up on top of the cupboard.
But this morning Father cut down
this barren friend of mine.
Only a hollow stump is now left of it,
eaten up from inside by ants.
And look, these same ants
are now rushing towards my feet.
Translated by JasnaFurtinger ; editing of the translation by Kristin Muraki
TRANSIT CEMETERY ALIFAKOVAC
Wayfarer, do you have the courage to atone
foryour pride, anger and crude words?
Reach out to a stranger;
embrace those on the other side!
Do you have the wisdom to replenishyourself
by bestowing upon others?
Frame with rocks all that is ephemeral;
before the great departure, leave an indelible mark!
Try to understand; absolve yourself;
touch the silence of the grave and welcome the rain
that patters over the hard earth.
Wayfarer, take the path of Alifakovac,
and among the carved white headstones
you shall find the beginning and the end of everything.
Translated by JasnaFurtinger ; editing of the translation by Kristin Muraki
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BIO
Jasmina Hanjalic
Born in 1963 in Pec; Primary school, High school and Faculty of Medicine graduated in Sarajevo, where she lives and works as medical doctor.
Writes a poetry, short storyes and reviews
Published
1, Poems collection: “All in one, one in all” (VAT, 2011)
2, “TURNED INTO THE STONE” (ZALIHICA, 2013)
3, “Stories in white” (Dobra knjiga, 2014)
Prizes:
1, The prize from Foundation of Literature Sarajevo for 2013.)
2, The prize “Anka Topic” 2014
3, “Creativity prize” fondation Naji Naaman, Libanon 2014.
4, The Third prize in the competition BNVD for the poem dedicated to the genocide in Srebrenica, 2015.
5, The First prize for poem on festival “The flower of Ukrina” Prljaca 2016
6, The First prize for poem on festival “Grah za ILIJU LADINA” 2015.
7, The first prize „Goran Bujic“ from Croatian writers association for 2016.
web: http://jasminahanjalic.wordpress.com/