Srebrenica Forgiveness
By Haris Silajdzic
That bloodstain
on the forehead of posterity
with bloodied palms
you want to erase
hope bloodied you gave them
in bloodied nightmares to suffocate
Through bloodied soil you trudge
in the dark
your tired fingers grope
feeling for the light
where tears should be
in your eyes blood sweat
There devilish voices
if you hear again
those who put you
on the path of blood
those who hide behind God
Beware
more blood they desire
those who deny and perjure
barking blood day and night
their tongues will chain you
in their macabre dance
to lock you
Yet in the court of conscience
truth only be told
Let the truth emerge
half of the bridge
forgiveness
the other half build
Asking for forgiveness?
Behold
there it is
in the eyes of a mother
still mourning her children,
in the graves of Srebrenica
it may be
There and there only
it may be
There and only there
your salvation must be
Ask:
Raise your hand
you whom I have killed
raise both hands
raise both hands
with wire tied
in the hour of death
Place them on my heart
Bless
with pure water
to wash my hands
that bloodstain to erase
posterity their head to raise
Asking for forgiveness?
Shout then
Top of your lungs:
Yes
I am the henchman
I am the killer
I am guilty
For nothing I have killed but
their voracious hate-pit to fill
Forgive me
if you can
I have shed your blood
for your mercy now I beg
I have built half of the bridge
may your forgiveness
the other half build
And, who knows...?
Merciful is the soul of Bosnia!
--
(Haris Silajdzic has published a number of short stories and poems. He has been Prime Minister and Presiding of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
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