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Snow in Your Shoes

Snow in Your Shoes

Ana Ristović

Sneg U Cipelama

One does not build a house collecting cutlery
even though a few extra spoons
come in handy sometimes.

One does not build a house from new curtains
even though different views
from time to time
should be shielded by new cloth.

For a home to be a home, among other things
you need a lot of things
you would gladly renounce
in advance.

Listen to what Eskimos say:
to build a good igloo,
for years you have to carry
snow in your shoes.

And a safety pin, forgotten
in your coat collar,
near the jugular.

Ne gradi se kuća na zbirkama escajga
mada koja kašika više
ponekad dobro dođe.

Ne gradi se kuća na novim zavesama
mada drugačije poglede
s vremena na vreme
treba zakloniti novim platnom.

Da bi dom bio dom, između ostalog
treba ti i mnogo toga
čega bi se unapred
odrekao, vrlo rado.

Slušaj šta kažu Eskimi:
da bi sagradio dobar iglo
godinama moraš da nosiš
sneg u cipelama.

I špenadlu, zaboravljenu
u okovratniku kaputa,
blizu žile kucavice.

NOTE: This poem first appeared in Serbian in the book Život na razglednici (Life on the Postcard).

Novica Petrović


NOTE: This poem first appeared in the anthology New European Poets (Graywolf P).

Translation