Ivan Benak

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

Radio burza

Rakijsko bure

Radio market

Rakija Barrels

Prodajem rakijsko bure:od sedamdeset litarai jedno manje od šesnaest,jer hitno ja trebam para.

I am selling rakija barrels:one of seventy litres, andone that's smaller, under sixteen,for I need cash, you understand.

Te su vam bačve od duda.Ako u njima rakija zrije,ona vam bude k'o dukat žuta,vjerujte, ta se u slast pije.

These are barrels of mulberry wood.If your rakija ripens there,it turns yellow as a ducat,and goes down a treat, I swear.

Čist je račun duga ljubavi da ne bude zabuna,oba lagva ja ću dati,za šesto pedeset kuna.

Clear accounts make love last long,and so no one's led astray:for six hundred fifty kunaboth the casks you'll take away.

Zato ovaj oglas dajem,ako se nađe kupac pravi,na 652-821na taj telefon neka se javi.

That is why I place this ad:should a proper buyer appear,on 652-821,on that phone, let him ring me here.

Valpovo, 06. 04. 2005.

Valpovo, April 6, 2005

Telefonski broj iz pjesme više nije u upotrebi.

The phone number in this poem is no longer in use.

Translator's note. A verse ad for Radio burza. "Clear accounts, long love" is a Croatian proverb, much like "short reckonings make long friends". Mulberry wood gives rakija a golden colour.