Houses of Holes - Croatia

I am tired 

Of houses full of bullet holes and 

Explanations which do not satisfy my mind-

And certainly not my heart

I accept that yours are the only ones you have to give

They are your truth but

Are they enough?

Can it be that simple?

I know I wasn’t there but

What about them?

What about them?

The human beings, the families, the chickens and the sheep

 

Who lived there also?

 

What about those who tried to help you

Or just to live their lives 

But were caught between worlds-

Tortured for their fidelity and for their lack of it

Depending on which side caught them first?

Do they matter? Or

Are they just casualties- 

Acceptable loses for the bigger hope?

What other choice could they have made?

What would you have done, had you been born the other?

I understand your side but

What about the other?

Were sides necessary at all or

Was there another way which

Would have left the houses full of life 

Instead of shattered and haunted and 

Empty

Is it a memory of victory or

A memory of shame?

How long will these riddled reminders stand as we drive by?

 

What do you think or feel when you see them? Or

Do you… see them anymore?

Is it just me? Because

I see them in my dreams

And what about the rest of us-

Are we wrong to question?

I just wonder and worry 

That we are missing the truth-

Or at least half of it

All of us, not just you

I am tired of houses full of bullet holes and

Holes in my heart from the nightmare of the stories that they tell

Where are they now?

 For the victims of the Yugoslav Wars- The living and the dead

Photo locations:
1. Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, December 2012
2. Zagreb, Croatia, November 2012
3. Karlovac, Croatia, August 2011
4. Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, December 2012