Ivan Benak

pučki pjesnik · folk poet  ·  Sopje 1933. – Valpovo 2015.Sopje 1933 – Valpovo 2015

Ljubavne pjesme

Drenovčanki

Love poems

To a Girl from Drenovci

Oj, djevojko, ljepotice,iz povijesne Cvelferije.Da l' bi mogla noćas, djevo,da me tvoja ljubav grije.

From historic Cvelferija,oh, young maiden, beauty bright,could you let your love, my darling,keep me warm this very night?

Došao sam iz daleka,do tih krasnih Drenovaca.Put me snaš'o u tuđini,a ja žedan poljubaca.

I have come from far awayto fair Drenovci, to you;far from home the road has caught me,thirsting for a kiss or two.

Želio bih noćas, draga,da ti ljubim bijelo licei s usana tvojih slatkih,pijem nektar, ljepotice.

I would like, my love, tonightjust to kiss your face so fair,and to drink, my lovely beauty,nectar from your sweet lips there.

Zato, dušo, dopusti mi,ostvarenje mojih snova.To bi bile samo skromne,želje Ive iz Valpova.

Let my dreams come true, my darling;grant them to me, don't say no;these would only be the modestwishes of Ivo from Valpovo.

Valpovo, 12. 03. 2007.

Valpovo, March 12, 2007

Translator's note. Drenovci is a village in Cvelferija, the historic district of Sava-valley villages in Croatia's far east. Ivo, in the last line, is the poet himself.