In the Village of My Ancestors
Someone hugs me
Someone looks at me with the eyes of a wolf
Someone takes off his hat
So I can see him better
Everyone asks me
Do you know how I'm related to you
Unknown old men and women
Appropriate the names
Of young men and women in my memory
I ask one among them
Tell me for God's sake
Is George the Wolf still alive
That's me one answers
With a voice from beyond the grave
I touch his cheek with my hand
And beg him with my eyes
To tell me if I'm alive too
translated by Charles Simic
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Vasko Popa
New York Review of Books
2019
