Two Poems by Astrit Lulaj

WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT YOU 

You knew me well, with every single flaw,

My habits, scars, the ugly parts of me.

With patient care, you slowly healed them all,

How could I not call you kindness, honestly? 

You showed me pain I carried deep inside,

Where silent tears would fall within my soul.

Yet with one smile, you made me feel alive,

How could I not call you Saint Mary whole? 

You forgave every mistake I made,

My foolish steps, my moments gone astray.

You held my hand each time I fell and failed,

What can I call you but God, in every way? 

You spoke to me beneath the moonlit sky,

We chased away our sleep, just you and me.

You filled my life with dreams and color bright,

And I will always call you: love, endlessly.

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MOONLIT NIGHT 

I left the tavern, left it all behind,

Where heavy smoke and wine hung in the air;

Upon the road, so sudden, did I find

You like a breeze that met me unaware. 

The moon is naked, glowing at its height,

Tonight we wander, lost in blissful grace;

O mighty God, you’re poor compared tonight,

For I have claimed the heavens as my place. 

The girl is mine, she lingers by my side,

The road is mine, so open and so free;

The moon is mine, upon the wind to ride,

Drunk without wine, that’s what I’ve come to be. 

With wings of love, so boundless and so bright,

While people sleep and streets are silent, clear,

I pray to God to grant my days this light:

To turn them into nights with moons held dear.

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- ASTRIT LULAJ

Albania 

AUTHOR PROFILE 

Astrit Lulaj was born in Berat on November 1, 1968, and has lived for several years in the coastal city of Durrës, Albania. An engineer and jurist by profession, he maintains a deep and constant devotion to poetic creation. He has published two poetry collections, The Soul’s Journey (Il Viaggio dell’Anima) and One is Missing… (Manca uno…), and is currently finalizing two new volumes. The first gathers his most recent lyrical work, while the second represents his first major engagement with the poetic adaptation into Albanian of classical and contemporary authors from world literature. He writes primarily in Albanian but is passionately dedicated to translating and recreating poetry from Italian, Russian, Turkish, Spanish, German, Arabic, and English. Through his work, he seeks to build bridges between different cultures and literary sensibilities by reinterpreting fundamental texts of world literature in a new poetic light. His poems have appeared in numerous national and international anthologies, and he is an active participant in literary competitions and a regular contributor to various cultural journals.