CITRINITAS #2 by David Nez

 



Zorna Zorka fell ill,
A Montenegrin lady in Cetinje.
Her dear father came to her,
Her dear father, King Nikola.
"What is wrong, Zorka, my daughter?
Can your wounds be healed,
Or are they mortal?"
"My dear father, King Nikola,
Three of my wounds can be healed,
But four are mortal.
I pray you, my dear father,
To send my children away --
Alexander to France,
George to Russia,
My daughter Milena to Montenegro.
They are the staff of my clan,
And the pride of my family!"

 

Translated by Albert B. Lord, in Bela Bartok and Albert B. Lord, Serbo-Croatian Folk Songs (New York: Columbia University Press, 1951), 311.