In search of the last tree, you find a stifled scream. Like a deranged dog, you watch the ocean and summon the Mediterranean. You fortify the house you’re building on the island, and your love of birds inhabits folk songs. Street entertainers whisper of you. No one is sure you exist at all. You were last seen on a foggy day. The witness is dead, and only legend can confirm you now. At last, you succeeded in your intentions.

***

Ruka preko usta

U potrazi za posljednjim stablom nalaziš zatomljeni krik. Kao sluđeno pseto posmatraš okean i prizivaš Mediteran. Bedemima okružuješ kuću koju gradiš na ostrvu a tvoja ljubav prema pticama useljava se u narodne pjesme. Sa šapatom te spominju ulični zabavljači. Niko više nije siguran da stvarno postojiš. Posljednji put si viđen u maglovitom danu. Svjedok je mrtav i ničim te, osim legendom, ne mogu potvrditi. Napokon si uspio u svojim namjerama.

Mehmed Begić

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Mehmed Begić is a poet from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He spent his early youth in his hometown, as well as in Mostar and Sarajevo. He is one of the founders and editors of the cultural magazine Kolaps – A guide for urban sleepers (1999–2010).

In 2000, together with Marko Tomaš, Nedim Ćišić, and Veselin Gatalo, he published a joint poetry collection titled L’amore al primo binocolo with the Italian publisher L’Obliqua in Brescia.

His translations of Leonard Cohen’s poetry into Bosnian appeared in the published collection Moj život u umjetnosti (Leonard Cohen – My Life in Art), released by Alternativni institut Mostar in 2003. He is featured in the interview and poetry collection Jer mi smo mnogi by Croatian poet Marko Pogačar.

Begić has collaborated with the band Vuneny and singer-songwriter Sanel Marić Mara. He occasionally contributes to online publications such as Žurnal (Sarajevo), Blesok (Skopje), and magazines like Tema (Zagreb). Together with Damir Šodan, he translates Hispanic poetry in the Divlji detektivi series.

He has an ongoing cooperation with Sarajevo-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Basheskia, resulting in several albums. In 2015, the album Savršen metak, blending his poetry and music, was released.

He also participated in the album Iznad tame – Pjesme za Viktora Haru (2023) with the collective Novi odmetnici. All lyrics were written by Begić.

He lived for many years in both Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. As of 2024, he lives in Madrid.