Sarajevo

A priest with his chalice,
I celebrate, at a pavement table,
The sacrament of coffee.
What have I learned
Between the bear and the wolf?
Illyrian ciphers
Irradiate the air.

The world is utter war
And history a tale of many deaths.
Say little, and keep your knife sharp.
Come, twist the blade,
And do not ask who, what, when, where and why.
You will not make sense of this!
Some foul evil has been done here,
By souls perverted and possessed.

Bosana-
Water…
The ancient word
Gushes in cascades, lakes and rivers
Of blood.

Fierce voices storm the murderous air,
Invoking hate and harm.
Who comes next
To conquer and oppress?

While the innocent are slaughtered,
The powerful stand by
And watch.
What better entertainment could there be?

In the National Museum
I look upon the Haggadah,
Brought from Spain
By the fleeing Sephardis.
The fires of Hell
Could not destroy this book.

Let this poem be an amulet,
Muslim or Christian,
A reading from the Koran
In an Orthodox church.