1
I saw a
gold pillar from
earth to
heaven.
2
I saw a dark towel
hanging from heaven to earth.
3
I saw three boiling kettles:
one of
oil, one of
butter, and one of
water,
and oil boiled over into butter,
and butter into water
but the water boiled all by itself.
4
I saw an old
mare with her
colt,
and a black
eagle pulling grass by its roots
and laying it down before the mare
while the colt neighed.
5
I saw a
bitch lying on a dunghill
while the puppies barked from her
womb.
6
I saw many
monks soaked in
pitch
wailing because they can’t get out.
7
I saw a beautiful
horse
grazing with two heads
one in front, one in the back.
8
I saw precious stones,
pearls, and royal wreaths
scattered over the whole kingdom.
but
fire came down from heaven
and scorched
everything into
ashes.
9
I saw the rich giving workers either
gold or
silver or
rice,
but when they asked for their own reward,
no one was left.
10
I saw evil-faced rocks descending
from the sky
and walking all over the earth.
11
I saw three
maidens in a mowed field
bearing wreaths of
sunlight on their heads
and sweet-smelling flowers in their hands.
12
I saw men with slits for eyes,
cruel fingernails, and hair that rose up,
and these were the
devil’s servants.
- anonymous, medieval Serbo-Croatian
translated by Charles Simic