The Loner
Boris Hristov
He has a scar on his forehead and always sits at the back.
Even if he's tall, the loner is a small man.
He gathers herbs or hews the stones of reminiscence –
Whenever he is out of work – and brings along a shabby blanket.
A horse's skull is glistening in the field: the loner goes,
To simply have a look – not that he wishes it would have its mane.
And while the others cry, or talk of arts,
The loner, at the table, catches flies, then sets them free.
But if he is a poet, for certain he's to leave
A tear in the eye, or a scratch inside your memory...
He has a home and hot soup, but his life is so much pent
As if it were a crate that someone's ditched in the corner.
And if this home should even topple upside down
He'd rather eat its ashes, but he'll never pray.
What fires he's burned in, and what iron's pressed him –
A lot of wine you'll have to drink with him to know...
And as he strides, speck on his clean shirt,
The loner suddenly dissolves into the crowd, as if he were a bead.
A book he has in one hand – for the burdened soul,
And in the other, does the loner clutch a rope – deep in his pocket.
Оригинално заглавие: "Самотният човек".
Boris Hristov's poem sung by Todor Kolev: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3VRqcTDxgA
* In the song, the second couplet is omitted.