Paul Shapera
Introductions
[BRIJA]
Some say there’s two gods, Black and White
Who play their games of day and night
But one fair day their world’s upset
When two more gods come bursting in
Order and Chaos, siblings too
Bring rules and contests, strange and new
The board is cleared, a new game set
And all four gods, they place their bets
There’s a land east of New Albion and some years ago they say
That the gods from round these parts they fell into a disarray
But theology and such lies quite beyond our small forte
It is just a simple folk tale that we bring to you today
It’s a tale one named Bogdan and his child has been snatched
From the bed where she had slept and his poor wife weeps now alas
The land where Bogdan lives has both a White god and a Black
But some years ago were conquered by their neighbors from the south
Occupied and ruled by a Vizier they’re kept in line
But in the hills the Hajduk roam and keep insurgency alive
Just a few short hours in the past the Vizier’s men
Took young Bogdan’s baby girl straight from out the crib
His wife and he were crying, screaming, fighting, so he left
Now he sits at the kafana and swears he’ll drink himself to death