Ode to mediocrity - Eqrem Basha

We the mediocre

Were born somewhere in the middle

Cried in mezza voce

Were wrapped in medium-quality swaddling clothes

Neither expensive

Nor cheap

We the mediocre

Neither rose

Nor fell

We left a bit of space at the beginning

And at the end

So that our blades would not be blunted

We the mediocre

Eat at mid-day

Sit midpoint at the table

Find our names halfway down the list

Speak up in the middle of a conversation

Tighten our belt at the midriff

Have a beauty spot amid our brow

We the mediocre

Bite into the centre of the apple

We the mediocre

Get married neither young nor old

We the mediocre

In the midst of mid-life

Build an average home

Neither wealthy nor poor

We the mediocre

Neither clever nor stupid

Neither strong nor weak

We the mediocre

Neither big nor small

Neither guilty nor innocent

We the mediocre

Equidistant at middle-age

Live an average life

In the middle of this century

And in the middling midst of the middle

We get accustomed to it

We the mediocre

And do not stop at the end of the road

And do not start at the beginning

But stand rather somewhere

In the middle

We the mediocre

Walk right through the middle of the world

---

Eqrem Basha (born 1948) Albania

Translated by Robert Elsie

Source: Albanian Literature