Poetry is one of the most intimate ways into any language. When you read a poem in Serbian - even if you understand only half the words - something in you responds to the rhythm, the sound, the feeling. Today I want to share one of my favourite poems with you, a poem built around a beautiful metaphor. It is the kind of poem that stays with you long after you have put it down.
We will read it in Cyrillic, just as it would appear in a Serbian literary edition, and then we will listen together. Do not worry if your Cyrillic is still shaky - treat the sounds as music for now, and the understanding will deepen with each re-reading. That is the magic of poetry: it rewards you every time you return to it.
What is this poem about?
The poem is built around a metaphor - meta-fora in Serbian (borrowed directly from Greek, as in English). The central image is one of transformation: the poem asks what remains of something after it has changed, after it has passed from one state to another. Is it the same thing? Is it new? Or is it perhaps more fully itself than it ever was before?
This theme of transformation through metaphor resonates deeply in Serbian poetry. The Serbian lyric tradition is rich with images drawn from nature - rivers, oak trees, mountain mist, the slow turning of seasons - and this poem draws on that tradition while giving it an intimate, personal turn. Reading it, you feel that the poet is asking not just about objects or phenomena, but about people: about memory, loss, and what love leaves behind when the form it once wore has changed.
It is a quiet poem, but a deep one. Let it sit with you.
Read it in Cyrillic
Here is a stanza from the poem in its Cyrillic form, as you would find it on the printed page. Read it slowly - even just following the shapes of the letters and listening to the sounds is a form of practice:
Шта је то метафора?
Кад кажем: твоје очи су два језера,
ја нисам рекла лаж.
Само сам пренела твој поглед
у другу реч,
у другу светлост.
And here is a gentle, literal rendering in English:
What is a metaphor?
When I say: your eyes are two lakes,
I have not told a lie.
I have only carried your gaze
into another word,
into another light.
Notice how the Serbian moves: the verb prenela (carried/transferred) is the same root as in the word metafora itself - meta (over/beyond) + pherein (to carry). The poem is doing exactly what it is describing. That kind of linguistic self-awareness is characteristic of the finest Serbian lyric poetry.
Hear it (carried forward)
The original audio companions for this post are preserved below. The first recording offers one reading of the poem; the second offers a different interpretation - notice how the same words take on a different life with a different voice:
How to use a poem in your language learning
A poem like this one is a small treasury of language. Pick one line - just one - and copy it out by hand, first in Cyrillic and then in the Latin transcription. Say it aloud. Ask yourself: which words do I recognize? Which sounds feel new? Even one line practiced daily will sharpen your ear, improve your pronunciation, and introduce you to vocabulary that textbooks rarely teach.
Beyond vocabulary, poetry teaches you the feel of a language - its music, its weight, the emotions it likes to name. Serbian has an extraordinary lyric tradition, and even a few poems read slowly and lovingly will give you an intuition for the language that years of grammar study alone cannot match. Trust the poetry. Let it do its quiet work.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to understand Cyrillic to enjoy Serbian poetry?
Not at all! Most modern Serbian poetry is available in both scripts, and hearing it read aloud - as in the recordings above - requires no script knowledge at all. That said, learning even a basic reading of Cyrillic will open a wonderful door, and the Cyrillic alphabet is genuinely not as difficult as it looks. Give it a little time and patience.
Are Serbian poems difficult to understand even for advanced learners?
Poetry in any language is more challenging than everyday speech, because poets choose words for their resonance and ambiguity rather than their clarity. However, much Serbian lyric poetry uses concrete, vivid imagery rather than obscure abstraction, so the surface meaning is often very accessible. The deeper layers reveal themselves gradually - which is part of the pleasure.
What is the word for "metaphor" in Serbian?
It is meta-fora - almost identical to the English word, because both come from the Greek. You will find many such loanwords in Serbian literary and academic vocabulary, which can be a reassuring bridge for English speakers approaching the language.
Who are some important Serbian poets I should know?
The great nineteenth-century poet Branko Radičević is often seen as the founder of modern Serbian lyric poetry. Jovan Jovanović Zmaj wrote beloved children's verse as well as passionate love poetry. In the twentieth century, Vasko Popa and Desanka Maksimović are essential reading. Each one will teach you something different about the Serbian imagination.
Should I try to memorize poems in Serbian?
If you enjoy memorization, it is one of the most powerful language-learning tools there is. A memorized poem is always with you - you can recite it in your head while waiting for a bus, and every recitation strengthens your feel for Serbian rhythm and vocabulary. Even memorizing just two or three short poems will have a noticeable effect on your fluency.
Thank you for reading and listening with me today. Poetry is one of the most generous gifts a language can give you - it asks only that you slow down and pay attention, and in return it shows you the language at its most alive. I hope this poem has touched you a little. Come back to it. It will have more to say each time.
- Marina Petrovic