A great poem by Pulevski

This is a poem by Pulevski, quoted from “Makedonski Slavjanski Sbornik” by P. Draganov, St. Petersburg, 1894.

Ye, Macedonian inhabitans, listen. Nothing awaits us
Except the Asiatic’s tyranny and disgrace abroad.
A foreign country is unpleasant; there, you are looked at suspiciously
And all are called unbearable drones.
In foreign lands, Macedonians, are said all sorts of things,
They are looked at sternly and called rudely.
Have, you, Macedonians, heard what old people say:
“There have not been bolder people than the Macedonians.”
“The Tsar Alexander the Macedonian, three hundred
years before Christ”
“Conquered the whole planet with the Macedonians.”
Our king Philip is a Slav, the Tsar Alexander is a Slav,
They have been given birth to by our Slavonic
grandmothers.
Macedonians! remember Macedonian heroism
And follow the path of your ancestors!
It is better to lose our lives in our dear country
Than bear all kinds of maltreatment.”