Sitwell, Edith: Sultanova pesma (The Soldan’s Song in Serbian)

When green as a river was the barley,
Green as a river the rye,
I waded deep and began to parley
With a youth whom I heard sigh.
'I seek', said he, 'a lovely lady,
A nymph as bright as a queen,
Like a tree that drips with pearls her shady
Locks of hair were seen;
And all the rivers became her flocks
Though their wool you cannot shear,
Because of the love of her flowing locks,
The kingly sun like a swain came strong,
Unheeding of her scorn,
Wading in deeps where she has lain,
Sleeping upon her river lawn
And chasing her starry satyr train.
She fled, and changed into a tree,
That lovely fair-haired lady
And now I seek through the sere summer
Where no trees are shady!'

Kad je ječam poput reke zelen bio,
Raž poput reke zelen bio,
Duboko gazio i pregovore počeo
Sa mladom čiji uzdah čuo.
„Prekrasnu mladu tražim – rekao –
Nimfu, kraljicu sjajnu,
Iz čije senovite lokne kao
sa nekog stabla biseri kapaju;
I reke su pretvorene u njeno stado
Iako njihovu vunu ne možete strižati
Jer je ljubav sa njenog plutajućeg uvojka,
Kraljevsko sunce kao labud došao,
Ne obraćajući pažnju na njen prezir
U bezdan gde je ona snivala
Hrabro se spustio
I oterana je utvara.
Koju sam čekao, krasna mlada
Iščezla je, drvo je postala
Za njom tragam u letnjem goletu
Gde sene nema ispod stabala.“