Nevena
What to say, Nevena?
I fell in love with you because of the little things
that are big when it comes to love:
because of your tight embrace around my neck,
that later even gives me a headache;
because of your gaze like a scanner
with which you absorbed me;
because of your childish behavior
and that: "Well, look who came to me?";
because of your sad look,
when you came back from work early,
while I was out walking, and I had the key with me,
and what you said when I arrived:
"My friend, I’ve been waiting like a dog";
because of your anger at me
because I didn’t call you at 5 in the morning
when I headed to the set;
because even though you were cold,
that evening on the bench at Kalemegdan
you didn’t want us to go to my apartment,
because the evening was so romantic...
Because of you, I also fell in love with Banjaluka
and the view of it from Banj,
from where I could recognize every street,
just as they would recognize my step.
They still remember and retell
how, after "Ples pod zvijezdama",
on the beach below the Obilićevo hall,
because you could no longer walk in heels,
I carried you on my back,
from the intersection of Carice Milice and Cara Lazara Streets
to Starine Novaka 4.
Although I’m not a fan of tradition,
I came to love our traditional picnics
and coffee from a thermos on the walls of Kastel,
as well as our walks along the Vrbas.
You dragged me into a story
you yourself weren’t ready to step into,
you gave me love
within your comfort zone,
because you weren’t ready to mature
and cut ties with the past,
even though you said you needed me...
There remained the most special declaration of love,
that some girl bestowed upon me,
on the morning of reconciliation,
after the night in which we had our first fight:
"You snore and I hate you!"
There also remained your lipstick on the mirror,
in the bathroom of the old apartment,
the one I moved out of.
There remained the unfulfilled intention
to teach me to dance bachata.
There remained unfulfilled wishes and dreams.
There also remained our story in the past.
Zera Princ
