There Before the Tribes Arrived
(Aty si tash para se me ardhë fiset)

You were
There before the tribes arrived
With your milk in a fissure in the rock
And with your feet in salt water.
They gave you but one name: Shkodra.
And they called you a crowned city
And they cast stones at your head
And ancient iron.

How often did you awaken drenched with blood
And observe yourself in the mirror?
Bearing a woman's name, you bathed in the waters
Of the river and enthroned yourself with fresh garments
Upon the cliff
Your brow shining in the sun over the fields.