Come – Dinka Bednjacic

Come with me to the timeless place –

place of another age,

where women in declining years wear raven scarfs

And unspoilt fields bear golden corn.Come visit with me a place

A place where I was born.

Come with me to the mountains above the valley

Listen to the shrieks of hawks and larks

Where icy wind howls in winters desolation

Where wolves and foxes stalk through the dark.

You will meet my ancestors, beholders –

protectors of land,

Stoic and proud people, will gladly shake your hand

But don’t ever question their chosen isolation,

For people of your world would never understand.

They will embrace you as you are

not for your colour or your creed,

Offer you a heart in the palm of their hand,

advice old and wise.

For they are open as the mountains

staunch as ancient rocks,

Their souls never perish, they just die – then arise.