Unexpected Guest in Berisha
(Mysafir i papritun në Berishë)

When the guest entered the house at dusk,
Seven brothers looked askance
As if he were walking over their heads and not
Over the dry floorboards. Nor did they, as ancient custom demands,
Greet and speak with him, but stared at the ground.

The youngest of them broke the silence,
Removed the lahuta from its place
And laid it in the guest's lap for him to play.
When he held the lute's body,
Gently stroking its side
With his rough fingers,
And plucked its foal-hair string with his thumb,
The brothers and the old man, head of the household,
Understood that the stranger was a singer
Like no other among them.

The beginning holds the heart in sway,
Not the end of the song.