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Milan Begović (1876–1948) A renowned poet before World War I and a very successful playwright after it, Begović focused on the perpetually intriguing encounter between man and woman, on love in its various manifestations, and lovers in their tangled ways. He was a skilled depicter of the Croatian bourgeoisie, and he paid a price for that when the Communists assumed power in Yugoslavia after World War II. The following poem, “Dunja” from his 1912 collection Knjiga sunca (Book of the Sun), was translated by Henry R. Cooper, Jr. An Anthology of Croatian Literature 128 The Quince Tree Before my forebears’ ancient house A proud quince tree displays its crown, The sun’s rays shine through its branches, And its golden fruit calms with pungent fragrance. Flocks of sheep bleat in the distance, And shambling shepherds sing, And the harness bells echo their ringing, And Blacky peeks out of his doghouse all-knowing And blinks at me. But deep within My heart dies from yearning, my dark thought blunders Through brilliant days that are no more— And the aroma of the quince, full of sweetness, Arouses in my soul the recollection That your breast, too, had that same fragrance. ...

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