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"Hearken thou—King Vukašin,
It is not Marko thou hast stabbed,
But thou hast stabbed one of God's angels[1]."
Then the King was very wroth with Marko,
And in wrath he cursed him:
"Son Marko, may God slay thee,
Mayst thou have neither grave nor posterity,
And may thy soul not leave thee,
Until thou hast served the Turkish Sultan!"
The King cursed him, the Tsar blessed him:250
"Marko, my godfather, may God be thy stay!
May thy face shine in the council-chamber!
May thy sword be sharp in the battle!
May no knight be found to put thee to the worse!
Be thy name renowned everywhere,
Whilst sun and moon endure!"
Thus they spake curse and blessing, and so also it came to pass.
- ↑ There is a flavour about this passage, unique in the Marko poems. The same sort of mysticism, however, informs certain portions of the Kossovo cycle.
