Ivan Benak

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

Prigodne pjesme i posvete

Gospodinu Josipu Granjašu

Occasional verse and dedications

To Mr Josip Granjaš

Nek' Vam bude knjiga ova,spomen divnog zavičaja,jer Vam ona puno priča,o ljepoti našeg kraja.

May this book be yours, to bea keepsake of our countryside,for it tells you much aboutall its beauty, far and wide.

Priroda nam radost krasi,bez povratka Drava plovi,tu promjene nikad nema,u prošlost nas vrate snovi.

Nature graces all our joy,Drava flows, and never turns;here there's never any change;in our dreams the past returns.

Zbog stvarnosti moje želje,što mi srce Sopju daje,a na skromnost postojanja,moja ljubav Sopju traje.

For the truth of my desirethat my heart to Sopje gives,in the humbleness of being,still my love for Sopje lives.

I kad prođe naše vrijemeta knjiga će dati svoje,jer će u njoj sa ponosom,biti ukras ime moje.

And when all our time has gone,still this book will give its own,for in it, with pride, my nameas an ornament is shown.

Valpovo, 22. 01. 2013.

Valpovo, January 22, 2013

Translator's note. A dedication for the book Destinacije Općine Sopje ("Destinations of Sopje Municipality"), which includes his work; Josip Granjaš was head of the municipality. Sopje, on the Drava, was the poet's native village.