Every one of our dreams
we placed before the barricades
knowing that dreaming is best there
and as if we want it
pretending we wish it
The truth is
that we wait, smiling
for misfortune to strike any one of us
not out of malice
but for misfortune itself
irresistible
arriving as
an Irrefutable Excuse
a Memory
a Half-spoken Lie
a Failed Plan
The chains between us pull tighter
after the fall
after the dreamed-of horror
finally arrives
Yes
it’s easy to laugh
when everything goes right
But it cannot stay that way
We won’t allow it
Bitter water
looks for its place
And every smoke that is not air
comes to us as a gift
Admit it
so I can admit it to myself
Say you know
what I’m talking about
Everything was done before us
Cities burned
The wounded abandoned
Sorrow was not invented.
No one gives a life for it—
it takes life.

BARIKADE

Svaki svoj san
smjestili smo pred barikade
znajući da se tamo sanja najbolje
i kao hoćemo
praveći se da želimo
Istina je da s osmijehom čekamo
nesreću svakog od nas
ne zbog zlobe
već zbog nesreće same
neodoljive
koja nam tako lijepo dođe
Nepobitan Izgovor
Uspomena
Nedorečena Laž
Propali Plan
Lanci između nas su čvršći
nakon pada
nakon ostvarenog odsanjanog užasa
Da
lako se smijati kada sve ide kako treba
Ali ne može tako
Nećemo
Gorka voda traži svoje mjesto
I svaki dim koji nije vazduh poklonjeni
Priznajte mi
da priznam sebi
Recite da znate o čemu govorim
Sve je prije nas učinjeno
Gradovi su spaljeni
Ranjenici ostavljeni
Tuga nije izmišljena
za nju se život ne daje
ona život uzima

Mehmed Begić

***

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.