Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Tatjana Gromača

IN THOSE DAYS WE LIVED ON SELLING NEWSPAPERS

There were happy days then
when I’d sell them all in a few hours.
Then with a bag full of money
I’d run back to my rented room
with a view of slum balconies and yards
and empty its dirty contents onto my bed
with naked Venus pictured on the blanket.
I’d sit with my legs crossed
and contented, like a robber
whose job had been well done,
drink a carton of cold milk
to soothe my dry throat filled with exhaust fumes
while counting slowly my thirty percent earnings.

U VRIJEME KADA SMO ŽIVJELIOD PRODAVANJA NOVINA

U VRIJEME KADA SMO ŽIVJELIOD PRODAVANJA NOVINA

Nekad je bilo sretnih dana
kada bi sve prodala za nekoliko sati.
Onda bi s vrećicom punom novaca
dotrčala u svoju iznajmljenu sobicu
s pogledom na sirotinjske balkone i dvorišta
i istresla tu prljavu sadržinu na krevet
prekriven dekom na kojoj je slika gole Venere.
Sjela prekriženih nogu,
i zadovoljna, poput pljačkaša koji je upravo obavio
dobar posao,
naginjući karton hladnog mlijeka
u grlo suho od ispušnih plinova
polako brojala svojih trideset posto zarade.
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IN THOSE DAYS WE LIVED ON SELLING NEWSPAPERS

There were happy days then
when I’d sell them all in a few hours.
Then with a bag full of money
I’d run back to my rented room
with a view of slum balconies and yards
and empty its dirty contents onto my bed
with naked Venus pictured on the blanket.
I’d sit with my legs crossed
and contented, like a robber
whose job had been well done,
drink a carton of cold milk
to soothe my dry throat filled with exhaust fumes
while counting slowly my thirty percent earnings.

IN THOSE DAYS WE LIVED ON SELLING NEWSPAPERS

There were happy days then
when I’d sell them all in a few hours.
Then with a bag full of money
I’d run back to my rented room
with a view of slum balconies and yards
and empty its dirty contents onto my bed
with naked Venus pictured on the blanket.
I’d sit with my legs crossed
and contented, like a robber
whose job had been well done,
drink a carton of cold milk
to soothe my dry throat filled with exhaust fumes
while counting slowly my thirty percent earnings.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère