A letter to my conscience
I besiege Your Grace to address a set
Of grievances submitted by your most
Humble servant in good faith and to
Your noble review.
I have been troubled at late by circumstances
Not of my doing or choosing, yet thrusted
Upon me by those who bear me ill and those
Who place little value on virtue or reason.
I must inform Your Grace that my reactions to
Those circumstances were not always wise and
Prudent, nor were my intentions always pure.
Yet I proceeded according to the very nature
Of my person, and in so doing, hoped for a
Benevolent outcome, even if the end of my
Path was not as defined as it should have been.
It is for that purpose I address Your Grace to
Determine the extend of my guilt, my weakness
Of bearing and any lack of faith in my fellow men.
I wish to overcome the flaws of my action, yet
Strike, if necessary, against any foes of my good
Intentions. I desire to remain victorious in virtue
And on my quest to a higher purpose, but beg to
Be striken down in humility from time to time,
Should my zeal subdue my good senses.
© Adlen Siljak 2009. All rights reserved.
Bosnia 2012
Leave no stone unturned,
leave no fire unburned,
this being our kingdom
near ruins and waste,
these being our lives
forged with bitter taste.
What allegiance owed
to our unnoble Lord,
his wisdom we can
hardly further afford.
Thus future action lies
within our own reach,
the palace walls as are
by pure will must breach.
So dark these past nights,
so bright a day to be won,
let this be marked by defeat
of the collective over the One.
© Adlen Siljak 2012. All rights reserved.
Lyrical translation of a classic poem by Aleksa Šantić
written for the CD Booklet “Silk & Stone” by Amira Medunjanin (World Village)
WHY ART NO MORE
Why art no more, why art no more?
When on blossom’s in the meadow
silent midnight (is) so aligned
my heart sees a yearning flow
Why art no more, why art no more?
When the sandman gave me peace
and my soul was set to retire
a (tiny) voice would my heart release
Why art no more, why art no more?
Every pathway is in blooming
Like it was in those careless days
And the roses are still embraced
By the fountain’s clearest haze.
A misty lily’s watchful eyes
and its blooming scent gently calls
oh, for me someone to weep
And in pain teary falls.
Why art no more, why art no more?
In a moment of endless fortune
and when sorrow bears a sigh
my love will carry yet a tune
Why art no more, why art no more?
Copyright: Adlen Šiljak 2015. All rights reserved
Amira Medunjanin “Što te nema” Youtube
adlen šiljak 