Dina Franin / Croatia

HOW TIRESOME IT IS

to say sometimes at the door
good afternoon and how are you
to smile.
How difficult it is to storm out of breath
with your little songs
into a serious institution
and provide each clerk with her due attention.
It’s difficult to be chronically ill
and not be spared sitting in the rain
by friends that are bored
and that like limpets
impose on you
to kill their time
of pointless existence.
My trousers are soaking
but they don’t care
and they repeat all the things
they could have become
but didn’t.
They cry over the children
they didn’t bear
over wrongly chosen husbands.
They describe
how they shake
from black coffee
and cigarettes on an empty stomach.
In the meantime
they complain and call me like an ambulance.

Translated by Ulvija Tanović

WE ARE ALL DAUGHTERS

Ugly men passing round me
mad after sex,
indecent men wanting to get by force
what I can\'t feel,
seducing criminals,
frights and psychopats
pinching, offering dirty things
because, when I need a favour
it should be payed by flesh
or by interest.
They want convincing love
after they had made me sick of it
long time ago
and the last illusion was overturned.
Due to the loneliness of my soul
they attack my helpless body,
body of a woman
not allowed to choose
and by blackmail they want to derive
a little bit of dirty satisfaction
diregarding what is said
or begged for.
One day
the same will be done to their daughters
and only then they will realize
how mean they were
wanting to take by force
the love of other peoples wives.
Worthless creatures.
.
WHY DO YOU CALL ME

while I run away?
Why do you persecute me
not giving me a chance
to conceive what I do not want
and what I wish for?
Don\'t be persistent.
Be distant,
be strange
and wait
for me to call you.
Wait,
because thus I\'m affraid of you,
I don\'t need you
as such.

Biografia
°°°°°°°°°°
Dina Franin / Croatia
Dina Franin was born in Zagreb on the 29th of March 1959. She graduated from the Law Faculty of University in Zagreb. She has published five collections of poetry: Primal Scream [Zagreb, 1995.], Woman\'s Pride is a Hard Stone [Zagreb, 1996.], The Last Juices of Summer [Zagreb, 1999.], The Sheltered Moon [Samobor, 1999.], Blue Nature [Petrinja, 2002.].
She is publishing in the Croatian and foreign literary and literary-theoretical magazines: Mogucnosti, Knjizevna rijeka, Hrvatska revija, Rival, Marulic, Hrvatsko slovo, Tragovi, Nagnuca, Poets International [India], Yellow Moon [Australia], Azami [Japan], ...
Her poems are included in the anthologies Tides of Memory [International Library of Poetry, USA, 2000.], Tender Moments [International Library of Poetry, USA, 2001.], Voices of Nature [International Library of Poetry, USA, 2001.], Tapping the tank [New Zealand Poetry Society, 1999.], Exchange of Gifts [New Zealand Poetry Society, 2001.], Poets International 2001 [India, 2001.], Writing from Turmoil [Zagreb, 1995.], The Anthology of Croatian Haiku - Free road [Croatian Haiku Society, 1999.], 100 Croatian Haiku [Society of Croatian Haiku Poets, 2000.].
Dina Franin\'s poems were awarded in Croatia and abroad: the third prize on The Kumamoto International Kusamakura Haiku Competition [Japan, 1999.], the third prize on The International ITOEN Haiku Competition [Japan, 2001.], a high commendation on The International Yellow Moon Competition [Australija, 2000.], an honourable mention on the competition of The Hawaii Education Association [Havaji, 1999.], the first award on the competition of The Croatian Haiku Society [Samobor, 2000.],...
In July 2000. she became a member of The International Society of Poets [Owings Mills, USA]. In November 2002. her poem Wasted Youth was performed by an actor Alen Rose on the 2002 International Society of Poets\' Convention and Symposium, Hollywood, California, USA and she was given a medal International Poet of Merit Award.
She took part in numerous poetic recitals and has participated in many radio shows and appeared on TV.
Since May 1998, her poetry has been present on the Internet at the address

dinafranin@yahoo.com

http://members.tripod.com/~dina_hr/index.htm.