#1 - Emptiness

Unplowed fields
Abandoned hills
Opened wounds
Sunken ships

Neglected plans
Distant horizons
Unraveled shirts
Bitter, dry fruit

Motherless children
Now janissaries
For blood-thirsty sultans,
Heroes enraged

Disgraced sisters
Sorrow in the soul
Unsaid curses
Left behind

Snakes with no heads
Wilted blooms
Unlocked doors
Fading hearts

#2 - Wounds

Hollow darkness folding
Tinted yearnings blooming
Sketches of eternal traces
Flooded by springs of hope

Fiery sparks of gold
Dotting the youth’s sunset
The undefeated city calling
Engraved with life shadows

Soulful songs brimming
Born out of people’s suffering
Abandoned open wounds
With sorrow and pain renewed

#3 - Trace

After every
Bated breath
Wistful gaze   
Impure thought
Deepened wound

After every
Crumbling wall
Letter unsent
Drained glass
Whispered lie

Only a trace is left
Eternal mark remains

After every
Wilted bloom
Melted snow
Unsaid word
Infinite ache

After every
Broken promise
Shattered dream
Wasted youth
Waning might

Only a trace is left
Eternal mark remains

#4 - OhRid

The hill’s shadow bathes
In the water
The fort stands eternal,
victorious,
The sun gilds
The lake’s surface
The heart of stone is
Unforgiving

Step by step
Up the hill
He named you,
The saints blessed you
The springs washed away
The rage of
Wounds past

Reflected in the icons
You, city of letters
Woven in the songs
blessed in holy water

The calm of the swans
The fire in the song
The ancient blind men
The blood of the crucified

With ache in the soul,
The king sighed:
Oh, rid!
heart filled with hope
faith built the royal wall

Reflected in the icons
You, city of letters
Woven in the songs
blessed in holy water

#5 - Sunrise

A child gifted
With a voice of angels
A nation rising
From the well of plenty

A chance meeting
Feeds the hope--
A song’s beginning,
A heart full of joy

Clear vision,
A gaze to the future,
Golden ring
A smile on the cheek

A new miracle,
A funeral’s serenity
A quiet storm
Love framed in a sunrise

#6 - Shadow

You,
The false peace followers,
With garlands on your chests
And pride on our foreheads,
You, slaves of your habits.

You,
With shattered hearts
Dirty conscience,
Ominous thoughts,
Predictable malice.

All of you,
Under the cold shadow
The infinite is near
The sun shines in vain
The end returns again

#7 - Sources

Flooded with ancient longing
The heart brims with yearning
passion tamed forever--
A hopeful song arises

The wisdom of the past
The tender frightened heart
Flows towards tomorrow
The instinct grows in faith

Moments in the unknown
I wait for the miracle
Stepping out of the cave
One step towards eternity

The dear mother’s tears
Mystical springs of plenty
Brighter than the sun
Sources of abundance

#8 - Longing

Tender smile,
A maiden’s
silent caress--
Making the hero’s
Big heart
Tremble
When she passes

The sounds of the
Secret instrument
Unlocks the floodgates
Of feelings,
Drenching in faith
The tender sprout

The smell of autumn,
Earthly abundance,
Blessed harvest
Crowned in
Golden leaves

Into his name longing is pouring
Towards her spirit hope is roaring

#9 - Sparks

When
At last
The chain around the neck
Is shattered
And a new dawn
Appears—
Watching
Through the secret window
Tyranny
Collapsing

When
The will is solid,
Unbroken
And the roar of
yearning
unstoppable,
The garden
Brimming with hope,
The thought
Conquering deserts

Then
The heart will fill up,
Abundant
With a thousand sparks,
A river of songs
Rushing,
Youth surrendering
To faith

#10 - A Call

The secret message arrives
hope sparks in their eyes--
The mountain is full of heroes,
the duke mounts his horse

The maiden in the field sings,
the future brimming from her chest
Silver beads of sweat on her forehead,
her heart overflowing with love

Countless tyrants multiplying
with sharp sabers brandished
fire in their eyes, thirsty for blood,
leaving ancient monasteries in ruins

A call in the song
A call to youth
A call for hope
A call of faith