When children from Bosnia ascend to Allah

falling asleep peacefully in Christ

they don’t need a passport any more

A black stamp suffices

at all border crossings

They quickly learn

Happiness is Kitsch

Antique furniture, Wiehler gobelins

with a field of poppies

make quite a nice bonfire

A proof of existence cogito ergo sum

Salt manufacturing in Bosnia

is done by dehydrating tears

They are stored in pools under the facial bone

Children in Bosnia learn quickly

hands-on education over an open grave

chemical processes, decay of material, and evidence

that even after life

fingernails and toenails still grow

A humanitarian corridor is unnecessary

They get food by recycling from bins

Children in Bosnia play hopscotch

with just one foot

Gravity guarantees their balance

They kiss each other in graveyards between two ethnic cleansings

which Europe sternly condemns

On a wound they put lily oil and plantain leaves

They kiss under the crosses in the shade of Muslim headstones

and quickly learn

The internationally recognized

boundaries of mindlessness

are unchangeable

The only thing that worries children in Bosnia is JUDGEMENT DAY

It will come

God has confirmed his attendance

And promised to respect the decisions of the Hague Convention

And how will our children from Bosnia

before the face of justice

stand up so long

on crutches

tr. W. Browne 2025/01/30

The preceding text is copyright of the author and/or translator and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.