"Zagoria of beyond life". by Elda Dilo

The novelty, the cadence, the impetus, the figures of speech in the poem "Zagoria of beyond life".

Today we are honoring a distinguished poet and patriot. It is a harmonized respect with a great work of art of a very special man of Homeland, who, through a titanic work and an illuminated mind, managed to offer “a sea” of knowledge out of Zagoria Valley.
In order to know Çajupi closer, we need to go and visit his birthplace, where, according to him, the Homeland starts. We leave early in the morning. The road is very difficult and the weather could change. Leaving Permet City behind, we take an uphill road leading us to Leuse, a famous village for its smart people and martyrs for the Albanian cause. There, I face a church, one of the oldest in the area and best preserved, with compassion and patriotism. I also face a stream with abondant cold water which comes out from the deep inside of the mountain and invites you to stop for a while. Leaving the village behind, I take the road which leads to the beautiful peak of Dhembel mountain. I walk slowly under the woods shadow. But I am not alone during my journey. I am accompanied by the “ Zagoria, the valley of beyond life” poem written by a poet with multidimensional thinking, Mr Kristaq Shabani. His poem, which has already encountered its readers, enchants life, makes you happy, gives birth to other works of art, becomes the soul for thought and action, in a word, it lives like a creature that has heart and soul, although it is not human.
In this peoem, all that happened, is closely related to an extraordinary strength with what it will happen. Thus, it has known the only immortality that exist, that of the movement. It travels in the paths of this world where the boundaries between the dream and the reality, disappear for a while.
This poem has got the nuances and the tendencies of an universal poemc reated by the filtering of the beyond sensation. It creates a new tradition in the leterary stylistics, it has got a clear expounding of the idea and the figuring/figuracion, it has got inspiration and thinking productivity. The poem expresses the time connotation as well as the challenges towards the poetic connotation of the future, expresses the philosophy of the advanced thought abd the future poetic pattern. As per its style, the artistic findings, the poetic forms, the musicality, metrika/metrics and the metaphors, all these make it one of the most impressive poems. One is strongly attracted not only by the elegant writing, the passion with which the beauty of nature is descreibed, the spiritual ties with the homeland, but above all, by the profound thought of the poet.
The race between the cypresses and the poplars, between the river azure water and the azure sky, the uniting of the maple roots, the assembly of the oaks, the assembly of the aromatic plants which are healing for the soul and the exhausted bodies, who cover the the shadowy mountanious slopes of this area, have a deep metaphorical meaning. The rader faces a scenery with stunning colours but which makes him thoughtful to find out its meaning, the idea that the poet wants to convey.
One of the poem verses whispers me in the ear. “The soul, like a fiery source/ takes out the golden fame……” and looks like it guide me. I see from above. This reminds me of Albert Einstein quote. When he was asked how he differs from the others, he replied: “ I see from above, from space. The others, in order to see the Earth’s roundness, need time. I can see it immediately.” Likewise, the poet sees from above and through a moral and spiritual decision, he has made a cut in time and becomecontemporary with the creator in the instant eternity.
The golden word, as a living relic that carries in itself the human wisdom through centuries, in its birth and historical development, because as Mr Gjergj Zhei says: “the word is able to explain itself, because it represents the human being, it is the human being himself with his immortal strength – the thought. The Protagonists: Pompei, Caesar, Bismark, Pukeville, Washington, Ali Pasha, part of the Godlike bravery, in the Kastelanesh denominations, leave traces of the timely tactics and strategies, the eye pupil arches the human journey, under the circular of the Bears, the sight lightening.” In these verses, it is strongly felt the deep infiltration of the author, watching from the bottom up, among all connections he sees, he focuses on those which express something important. The thought flow, takes the shape of a spire in which the smalleset comes out of the biggest and therefore gives the idea that all are within all. The eye pupil is shaped like a circle. Like all forms, the circle has got a symbolic dimension. Its symbolic resonance is personified in nature and in our brain, subconsciously.
He presents an eternal cycle like the time wheel. He is a symbol of comprehensiveness and continuity. He is ultimately a symbol of heaven and nature irrationality of the encyclopedic knowledge and as such arches the human journey. “Reaches out the hand and pets the heaven, sometimes glassy sometimes burning hot, sometimes with passing clouds sometimes with cloudy maps, resembeling the Globe” Reading these beautiful and meaningful verses, one feels the thought clarity of the poet who has skillfully chosen strong expressions and in this way, a light effect similar to the illumination of the torches in the intricated paths of the forest, has appeared. It looks to me as if I am in front of a scenery where on one side, I see a glassy sky and on the other side a burning hot sky. These detailed interpretations enable us to trace the thought of the poet. Such a thought gives us the possibility to find the road towards a large number of paths. The sensitive soul of the poet affects the infinity of everything, in every particularity of the world because the infinity appears in the form of the end.
What exists in a certain moment of the wold history, does not exist initially, that is why he sees the globe of the entire world in the sky of his valley, which is sometimes clean and sometimes burning hot. “ In my sky space, forms appear, bizzarre shapes of figurines, resemble to Angels, Devils.” Angels and Devils, love and hatred. Love which units and hatred which divides. Hatred which brings around darkness. A question arises naturally whether it turns out that there were moments that hatred obscured the valley? If we refer to history, mother of truth, we regretfully say, yes. Darkness which brought about consequences. But the people of this area, with their noble spirit, educated by those mothers who in their bridehood, as the poet says “they were adorned with wreaths of leaves aroma and epic – lyric flowers”, lit candles not to curse but to illuminate the valley.
Although when we left, it was a good weather, suddenly, in this place where there is only a piece of sky above our heads, cut by the mountains peaks, the wind brings in the clouds, it’s getting dark, deeply dark. The place is called Well. The rain can start in a moment, accompanied by the lightenings and the mountan thunders. You feel as if you are at the bottom of a gigantic well which in stead of the walls , it has got high peaks carved by nature with its chisel. The only exit is a very deep cut right in the heart of a gigantic mountain while the road winds by the side of a scary abyys. My mind goes back to 24 March 1300 when Dante Alighieri lost his way in the dark woods if he headed towards the Valley of beyond life, it would not be necessary to see the silhouette of Virgil sent by Beatrice from the sky. Then going down to Hell where the sinners of 9 circles were condemned for the sins which Dante has divided according to Aristotle’s theory. They were not even allowed to climb up to the 7 circles of the Purgatorio to purify their spirits fom the sins which Dante has divided according to Plato’s theory. Beatrice would take immediately to the skies of Paradise, to the 9 Dantesc skies. Because as the poet says, “Whoever steps and travels, on the wonders of my valley, her land leaves traces…., the trace of my Earth, this message from Gods received by the circle of the human life, in a circle anti Dante…? And whoever escapes to the beyond life, returns each time live people need him.”
I walk slowly because the road is tough and even the bird “flies slowly”. Although it is a long way to go, I do not feel tired because I am heading to the Vally which, like we read these verses of this poem, “ in the sky space, like a huge mirror, they are susprised with themselves and reflect, the reliefs, people, livehood, accompanied by the tweets and whistles, a concert of an ensemble of birds”.
The splendid nature is aligned with the physical beauty of the women that the poet compares with the gazelles, with the men bravery, who have resisted heroically to the big storms of all timesand have never been defeated because they were united.
“There are hundreds of maple trees in my Valley, they have streched out their roots, in ten cities, they share just one topic, the central points, an underground linking bridge, the relief forces”. They have preserved religion and mother tongue with fanatism. They know how to respect the property of one another. “How it happens that I never saw the hill, to push away the hill, or the forest to push away the forest”, the poet says. He continues, “They are peaceful and are not part of fratricide. Do not even think that this could happen in my Valley. Designed by Gods, they are distinguished Democrats. “The oaks gather in an assembly of oaks, in their assembly of Hoshte, how good the Parliament of oaks looks”.
For the people of this province, democracy means rule of law. “All smart oaks, we relish their words, we relish their decision and laws, applicable for the entire Tribe of Oaks….” If contrary to the decisions, one gets punished according to the laws. The following verse draws our attention, “Displayed in the the 8th day of the week. Number 8 symbolizes a new beginning, a balance between the material and non material world. In case we introduce the Pythagorean concept on number 8, we would say that it is the symbol of love, friendship and a productivity of thought. Number 8 is the first cubic number which presents the width, the length and the depth of thought.
The grandiosity of the intellect, is specialised in the following verses. “In my Valley, the minds live in their loneliness, but they gather in the planet of the minds”. Zagoria is one of the provinces of Albania with charming and powerful vitality. The history of a country is the history of its famous people. Zagoria people have the right to feel proud of those remarkable men who are like universal buildings where from which window, their numerous works radiate light with an everlasting and precious duration. They walked in life with a glance, beyond time and now occupy an important place in the history of the nation. These magnificient oaks have got only one concern. As the poet Agim Shehu puts it: “is it true that the rnaks of the Albanians are reduced or their blood is now thinner?” “They keep listening to the 10 bells of the future which coming. They enjoy the new generation who creates new projects and this is reflected beautifully in the following verses: “the godlike birds start tweeting towrds the skies. They are happy because “ the lightnings of the rebirth are flashing, the new contours get shaped, on the birth bed.”
We have “defeated” the mountain. We have left behind the Pass, Lena Valley, Pus village, the tough road by the side of the abys. And
“Behind the curtains… the grandiosity,
the colour amazes us.
Oh man, how extensive is the fantasy,
the beautiful soul is distressed….
The Valley of four outfalls,
the Valley of the rare dreams.
The mountains can touch the sky.
The fairy tale is in front of us. “