Listen and read the poem in the Cyrillic script
Meta-fora page with this poem in the Latin script
Read the image before translating the line
Poetry may place familiar words in unfamiliar order. Begin with the concrete image—river, shadow, window, bird—before solving every grammatical relation.
Listening reveals pauses and emphasis that punctuation cannot fully show. Compare the Cyrillic and Latin versions only after hearing the stanza as a whole.
A small gallery of poetic Serbian
| Latinica | Ћирилица | English |
|---|---|---|
| Tiha reka nosi mesečinu ispod starog mosta. | Тиха река носи месечину испод старог моста. | A quiet river carries moonlight beneath the old bridge. |
| Na praznom prozoru drhti poslednji list. | На празном прозору дрхти последњи лист. | The last leaf trembles at the empty window. |
| Jutro je prosulo svetlost po mokrim krovovima. | Јутро је просуло светлост по мокрим крововима. | Morning scattered light across the wet roofs. |
| U daljini jedna ptica preseca tišinu. | У даљини једна птица пресеца тишину. | In the distance, a single bird cuts through the silence. |
| Njene reči mirišu na dunje iz detinjstva. | Њене речи миришу на дуње из детињства. | Her words smell of quinces from childhood. |
Carry one verse from Cyrillic to Latin
Select one image and read it three ways: neutrally, sadly and with wonder. Notice how voice changes interpretation without changing a word.
- Find the noun meaning moonlight.
- Write tišina in Cyrillic.
- Translate poslednji list.
- Which verb makes morning human-like?
- Create one poetic comparison in Serbian.
Where sound and meaning meet
- mesečina
- тишина
- the last leaf
- prosulo (from prosuti)
- Answers vary.
Return to the poem slowly; a line understood through its image often survives longer than a memorised translation.
Marina Petrović