NIKOLA VAPCAROV
1909-1942

A Macedonian poet who belongs to the Macedonian and Bulgarian literature. He was born in Bansko -- Pirin Macedonia (today a part of the People's Republic of Bulgaria). He was killed by Bulgarian fascists for anti-fascist and communist activities. He is one of the most prominent proletarian poets. His most famous book of poems is "Motoring Verses."

LAND

This land,
That I am treading on now,
This land,
That is woken by the south in the spring.

I do not know this land -- my land,
This land, forgive me for saying: Is somebody else's!

I head out early.
Along a factory road
Countless workers clothes swarm together.

We are merged into one heart, one mind,
But this country....is not mine!

Above my land,
In spring-time
Splendor is reflected
Waterfalls storm from the radiant Sun.

You feel it close to your heart,
And watch as endless rows of flowers blossom.

Above my land,
Up to the skies
Pirin rises.

The pines chant Ilinden stories in a chorus.

Above Ohrid, the azure blends into the space,
And further beneath, rainbows are glistening as one on the Aegean.

I will recall,
And the blood will rush to
My heart, melting into some kind of gentleness....

My birth place! A place so beautiful....
Mothered in storms,
Nursed with blood amid fierce blizzards

FATHERLAND

I have a fatherland, a birth hearth,
The blue arch adorns it during the day.
At night, stars shine blazingly,
In the morning, the bright day chases them away.

At night, when I walk home,
Under the dark roofing,
I can sense it -- the devil is waiting for me
Next to my house, with a gun in his hand!

You told me stories, you taught, mother
To love everyone the way I love you.
I would like to, I would like to,
Only I will need freedom and bread.