Vesele zgode šofera Mate
The Merry Adventures of Mate the Driver
Sviće zora. Ja na cesti.Preda mnom je put daleki.Da ubijem tu samoću,gledam ima l' putnik neki.
Dawn is breaking. I'm on the road;I have far to go today.Just to kill the loneliness,I watch for hitchers on the way.
Motor radi, tiho prede.Zlatna zora zrake sije.Pokraj ceste žensko stoji,kosa joj na vjetru vije.
Engine running, softly purring;golden dawn light fills the air.By the roadside stands a woman,and the wind blows through her hair.
Već žmigavac desni radi.Ne znam da l' je san il' java?Motor stao, ni da mrdne,a preda mnom cura plava.
Now the right-hand blinker's going.Am I dreaming? Is it true?Engine's stopped, it will not budge,and a blonde girl's in my view.
Još se nisam ni snašao.U kabinu sjelo luče.Kao da smo stari znanci,veselo mi ona guče.
I had hardly caught my breath:in my cab there sat a dear.Just as if we were old friends,she cooed merrily in my ear.
Ja namjestim retrovizor.Put krivuda lijevo – desno.Kad ugledah pogled njezin,meni oko srca tijesno.
I adjust the rear-view mirror;road bends left, and bends to right.When I caught the look she gave me,round my heart it all went tight.
Mislim, baš je zgodna mala.Gledam: glavu, noge, grudi.Čarobno se smiješi mačka,šofersku mi strast probudi.
"What a cutie!" so I'm thinking,eyeing head and legs and bust.How the kitten smiles, bewitching!And she wakes my driver's lust.
Sunce prži. Motor grije.Skidati se poče dama.Više ne znam kuda vozim.Na oči mi pala tama.
Sun is scorching. Engine's hot.Now the lady starts undressing.Darkness falls across my eyes;where I'm driving, I'm just guessing.
Zadrhtaše moje ruke.Lijevo – desno put krivuda.Tijelo moje ognjem gori.Skrenut moram, gledam kuda.
Then my hands begin to tremble;left and right the road is curving;all my body burns with fire;I must turn—but where? I'm swerving.
Već je prvi mračak pao.Pokraj ceste divna šuma.U sjeni sam hrasta stao,da ne pukne prednja guma.
By then early dusk had dropped;by the road, a lovely wood.In an oak tree's shade I stopped,lest the front tyre burst for good.
Valpovo, 17. 04. 1983.
Valpovo, April 17, 1983