I cannot show you the right way
(I am not even sure such a thing exists)
but I know a road
older than time
There each must discover for themselves
how much lostness can be endured
and what we are willing to do in the gloom
when no one is watching and we see nothing
when we are abandoned by sound
shattered and scattered
divided or cast out
we search for words losing our letters
Forgotten tenderness
we still find
born by chance for the fall
we accept and understand mistakes
without the illusion of ever becoming better selves
of fulfilling threadbare dreams
or ever having enough time for that
A wreck of kisses that we are
we once truly believed
that destinies like the right way
film glory or salvation in art
were equally available to everyone

PUT SVILE, PUSTINJA GOBI

Ne mogu ti pokazati koji je pravi put
(nisam siguran ni da takvo nešto postoji)
ali poznajem cestu
koja je starija od vremena
Tamo svako za sebe mora otkriti
koliko je izgubljenosti moguće podnijeti
i šta smo spremni napraviti u tmini
kada niko ne gleda i ne vidimo ništa
Kada smo od zvuka napušteni
rastrojeni i razdvojeni
podijeljeni ili odstranjeni
tražimo riječi gubeći slova
Zaboravljenu nježnost
ipak uspijevamo pronaći
Nasumično stvoreni za pad
prihvatamo i shvatamo greške
bez iluzije da možemo biti bolji ljudi
da ćemo ostvariti pohabane snove
ili da za takvo nešto ima vremena
Olupine smo od poljubaca
i jednom smo iskreno vjerovali
da su ishodi poput pravog puta
filmske slave ili spasa u umjetnosti
svakom podjednako dostupni 

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.