Dobro došli prijatelji dragi!
Welcome, My Dear Friends!
Ja sam rođen u blizini Drave,u dolini polja i livada,okoline Podravske Slatine:Šokica me porodila mlada.
I was born not far from Drava's shore,in a valley green with field and lea,in the parts around Podravska Slatina:a young Šokica gave birth to me.
To je bilo trideset i treće,u mjesecu kad se žito želo,dvajs'devetog, a bio je petak,pa sam svakoj radosti početak.
It was in the year of thirty-three,in the month when they were reaping wheat,the twenty-ninth, and Friday was the day,so every joy begins with me, I say.
Mnogo ljeta iza mene stojina plećima: sedamdeset devet.Koliko ću? Dragi Bogo znade,sve je dobro dok ne nađem krevet.
Many summers stand behind me now,on my shoulders: seventy and nine.How much longer? Only dear God knows;till I take to my bed, all is fine.
Svima vama, dragi moji hvalašto ste danas posjetili mene,nema puno, vrijeme mi je kratko,da se sklope moje oči snene.
Thank you all, my dear ones, every one,that you came to visit me today;not long now: the time I have is shorttill my drowsy eyes are closed to stay.
Kad se sjetim svojega djetinjstva,bolnih dana u životu momei mladosti da stvorim budućnost,robovanja u životu svome.
When I think back on my childhood years,on the painful days my life has known,and my youth, spent building for the future,on the slaving years that were my own.
U Belišću pedeset i prve,dva pupoljka bila su na radu.Jednog dana tu se upoznali,jedno drugom svoje srce dali.
In Belišće, in nineteen fifty-one,two young buds were working side by side.There one day they met, and from the starteach one gave the other one their heart.
Godine su prolazile burno.Djeca su nam kuću popunila.Za budućnost mi smo snove snili,uz svu patnju i sretni smo bili.
Stormy were the years that passed us by.Children came along and filled our house.All our dreams were of the days ahead;though we suffered, happy lives we led.
Da bi sretni u starosti bili,obiteljski dom smo sagradili.Mirovinu svoju uživamo,sreću našu nikome ne damo!
So in old age happy we could rest,we have built a home, a family nest.Now our pension we enjoy each day,and no one takes our happiness away!
Recite mi, ima li što ljepše:kada svane osamdeset ljeta,kad se skupi i rodbina naša,prijatelji, da nam sreća cvjeta.
Tell me, is there anything more sweet:when the eightieth summer comes our way,when our relatives all gather round,and our friends, so joy may bloom and stay?
Draga moja djeco i rodbino:još jedanput ja Vam velim hvalašto ste mene danas posjetili,skupa sa mnom i vi sretni bili!
My dear children, and my kinsfolk all:once again I say my thanks to youthat you came to visit me today;and together with me, happy stay!
Valpovo, 27. 07. 2012.
Valpovo, July 27, 2012