three were houses of worship
tri su bile bogomolje
one mosque, and two churches
dvije crkve i džamija
I do not know whose will was it
zbog ljudske il’ Božje volje?
that my soul those plains traverses?
među njima rodih se ja
each high noon, I would take in
baš u podne svakog dana
echo through the neighborhood
slušao sam odjek srodstva
heavy bells, voice of muezzin
zvona teška, glas imama
hymn of human brotherhood
kao himnu ljudskog bratstva
where the East Rome embraces
gdje se Istok grli s Rimom
and the sorrow is primeval
a slavenstvo tugu ljubi
I was raised by the good graces
odgojila me intimom
and diverseness of good people
različitost dobrih ljudi
worlds and cultures over there
svjetovi se i kulture
mesh with aromas so strong
tu prepliću s aromama
tongues they plead alone in prayer
jezici se deru, žure
and combine in jokes and song
i spajaju u pjesmama
every century has left
svaki vijek je ostavio
traces in both blood and stone
trag u krvi i kamenu
the eternal balance set
ravnotežu postavio
to collectively be known
zajedničku, bezvremenu
while the Sava rolls lazily
dok se Sava lijeno valja
I’m watching the evening fall
gledam večer kako pada
in the distance, a torch is burning
u daljini gori baklja
of my childhood, of my hopes
mog djetinjstva, mojih nada
Bosnia whispers to Croatia
Bosna nešto Slavoniji
something, it sounds Italian
šapće, zvuči talijansko
widely, like the smell of acacia
trepti svud po Panoniji
drifts this Persian name of mine
moje ime, perzijansko
Dario Cvencek is a Bosnian refugee turned Seattle poet, as well as a research scientist at the University of Washington. Drawing on a childhood shaped by the war in the Balkans, his work explores the stubborn presence of love amid displacement and trauma, reflecting a journey of healing and reclaimed belonging. By day, he studies how children construct identity. By night, he writes about the slow work of rebuilding a self in a new language. His words have appeared in Rattle, Zone 3, Hobart, and other independent literary magazines. His debut full-length poetry collection, PTSD Martini, was released in May 2025, followed by Mirror Made of Words in March 2026 (both from Carbonation Press). He lives and works in Seattle, where he hosts the poetry series Speak Out Seattle and Poetry on the Ave. He began writing poetry as a teenager during the Bosnian War. He has not stopped. Connect with Dario on Instagram at @dario_poetry.