I envy the over-aged
University professors
Who read aloud their lectures
From yellowed papers
Written many years ago,
When they were young.
I envy priests
Who’ve mastered
And learned
By heart their only book,
Though it is
Long-lasting and holy.
I envy politicians
Who know nothing
But repeating words
Of their agendas,
Always going
Over economy, Europe and NATO.
I envy famous
Macedonian writers who
Haven’t read anything,
Except their own ingenious work
And works of the like-minded,
But think they know everything.
I envy businessmen
Who read Coelho and Dan Brown
As if they were the world’s literary crown,
And brag about their choice
On the pages of weekly family magazines
Full of sensational contents.
I envy those who drive
Their luxurious cars and jeeps,
Empty their ashtrays in the streets,
At traffic lights
And throw away their plastic bottles while
Driving through countryside.
I envy all those
Who buy (or get)
The most expensive concert tickets
For world-famous musicians
And then applaud between movements,
Keeping rhythm with their feet.
I envy all of them, but wonder as well,
How on Earth I was lucky enough to escape
Becoming one of them!