What Do You Remember from Before the War?

Srebrenica, Bosnia, the world's first United Nations Safe Area, was the site of the worst case of genocide in Europe since World War II. In July 1995, over a period of five days, the Bosnian Serb soldiers systematically murdered over 7,000 men and boys in fields, schools, and warehouses.

– Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave

In the summer there was always music

as we wandered Srebrenica’s gardens

the Eyes of Beautiful Water moving like mystics.

Suitors offered tulips, Italian lipsticks.

We’d kiss and tell, comparing different men.

In the summer there was always music

as we made love, our magic word spelled picnic

in fields, forests, waterfalls and often

the Eyes of Beautiful Water waving like mystics.

Cleansing our faces in those fountains lit

our so-called spirits, forged a passageway within.

In the summer there was always music.

So that July, when the news turned cryptic

we’d meet at midnight, tango limb to limb.

The Eyes of Beautiful Water flowing like mystics.

We hoarded joy, each day more surrealistic —

massacres, guns, Serb mortars and violins.

In the summer there was always music.

The Eyes of Beautiful Water disappearing like mystics.

Originally published in New Orleans Review