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Oh
Ocean of endless perfection
Make us worth
So that we can give You
Water, Blood and Tears
for remission if sins.
Give
us a sing, we Beg You. "
"Oh Mighty God", I carried on, "Don't let this Mighty water Element wash this blessed magic out of
them. Help them, of God to preserve and store this night in their pocket of memories. Maybe some
day, when they tell stories to their grandchildren, they'll chose this episode as the most beautiful thing
that ever happened to them.
The gentle smile that will show up on their faces will be decent compensation for gloomy every-day
living.
Amen, Amen and Amen!!!".
Surprised, I notice that the bus is crowded. Crowded with women. When they return home from work,
they will be carrying heavy bags of food. And their husbands will be driving home by car.
Various are ell of sweat; morning brandy and stale garlic are competing with one another. Finally, my
stop arrives. I exchange a glance with the driver, and we understand each other.
I'm in the rain again.
The early bus.
Watching nowhere,
sleepy faces.
Prijevod/Translated by Jagoda Copič
Matej Markoč, 6.b, OŠ Poliklinike SUVAG, Zagreb, Hrvatska:
PRIVJESAK ČAHURA
S mamom sam krenuo na put u Vukovar. Zašto? Moju mamu je uhvatila želja da vidi taj grad, a ja
sam htio ići s njom. Samo sam do sada slušao o tom gradu pa sam ga poželio i vidjeti. S velikom
znatiželjom sam krenuo na taj put.
Put u Vukovar -
u gaju stado srna
usred ravnice
Stigli smo oko 10 sati. Prvo sam primijetio puno kuća izbušenih od metaka. Sve je tamo drukčije.
U Vukovarskoj bolnici sam gledao video o ratu. Ti ljudi su svašta proživjeli. U bolnici sam vidio
lutke u prirodnoj veličini koje su predstavljale umrle ljude. Čuo sam da je u bolnici umrlo puno djece.
Bio sam i na Ovčari. Unutra je bilo mračno, na zidovima slike poginulih, a u kutu ispod stakla na
slami stvari nestalih i umrlih. Na podu su čahure metaka koje se do pola vide jer su u betonu. U suve-
nirnici sam kupio čahuru kao privjesak za uspomenu. Malo dalje od Ovčare je velika grobnica gdje
smo zapalili svijeću i pomolili se za poginule.
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Kasnije sam vidio što sam želio, a to je vodotoranj. Čudio sam se kako još
stoji od tolikih granata i
metaka. Blizu vodotornja je restoran na Dunavu i tu smo ručali. Stajao sam na obali velike rijeke.
Široki Dunav -
jedan usamljen čamac
pluta kraj patke
Nakon ručka smo posjetili crkvu u Aljmašu, a na samom kraju smo otišli u Ilok.
Tamo sam vidio
pravi vinski podrum i kako se pravi vino. Ilok je jako lijepo mjesto i bilo mi ježao što nije bio dan da
ga još bolje vidim.
Iz Iloka smo krenuli u Zagreb puni dojmova. To je bio moj nezaboravan izlet s mamom.
Povratak kući –
moje misli još
u Vukovaru
Objavljeno u Zborniku kloštranskih haiku susreta 2010.g.
Verica Peacock, Harlow, England:
THE ARBORETUM AT TRSTENO,
CROATIA
A leisurely stroll through the shaded Arboretum, situated at the seaside hamlet of Trsteno, only 30 km
from Dubrovnik, was an unexpected joy. From the moment I entered, its beauty but, above all, its
tranquillity, conquered my senses.
This botanical garden, which covers an area of 63 acres, contains more than 300 species of trees and
plants from around the world, as well as architecture from the Gothic-Renaissance period, thus mak-
ing it one of the finest gardens in this part of Europe. In 1950 it was donated to the Academy of Sci-
ences and Arts of Croatia.
The Arboretum was established in the fifteenth century by the Croatian noble family Gučetić. Due to
the continuous five-century long development of this unique park, it was declared a natural rarety in
1948 and in 1962 it was registered in the list of protected natural monuments as a monument of land-
scape architecture.
Turtle, out of its
depth, enjoys the beauty of
renaissance fountain.
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The pride of the Arboretum are two oriental plane trees, located in the central market place at Trsteno,
whose height is 60m and trunk circumference 5m, but what made a special impression on me was the
wonderful cascading fountain, with Greek statues and the aqueduct, which was constructed in the fif-
teenth century, at the same time as the Arboretum
was established, in order to irrigate the gardens.
The crickets’ choir
entertains ancient statues
near the aqueduct.
If you find the call of the sea irresistible, when viewed from the gardens, you can go down to the
small bay beneath for a cooling swim.
Sadly, during the latest Balkan war in 1990s, the Serbian Army launched a series of gunboat and air
attacks,
setting the Arboretum ablaze, destroying a great deal by fire.
Fortunately, the summer residence and the oldest part of the Arboretum were only partially damaged
and there appears no evidence of this. It was further damaged by a forest fire in 2000, but in the spirit
of renewal, it is open to appreciative visitors again. The only caveat for visiting the Arboretum is the
number of midges around and I would advise visitors to wear long trousers and long sleeves. I wish
someone had told me that before my visit!
Overlooking deep
blue sea, the aged trees guard
their inheritance.
TRSTENO ARBORETUM, HRVATSKA
Šetnja, bez žurbe, kroz hladovinu arboretuma, na obalnom naselju Trsteno, samo 30 km od Dubrov-
nika bilo je neočekivano veselje. Od trenutka kad sam unišla, njegova ljepota i, nadviše toga, spoko-
jstvo, osvojilo je moja osjetila.
Ovaj botanički vrt, površine 28 hektra, sadrži više od 300 vrsta stabala i biljaka iz cijelog svijeta, te
arhitekturu gotičko-renesansnog stila, što znači da je ovo jedan od najljepših vrtova u ovom dijelu Ev-
rope. U 1950. godini, arboretum je bio darovan Akademiji znanosti i umjetnosti Hrvatske.
Hrvatska plemenita familija Gučetić ustanovila je arboretum u petnaestom stoljeću. Kako je ovaj jed-
instveni park sada imao neprekidan razvoj kroz pet stoljeća, zaštićen je kao spomenik vrtne aritekture.
Kornjača izvan svoje
dubine, uživa u ljepoti
renesansne fontane.