In Dubrovnik
by David Subacchi
In Dubrovnik, we are told,
Two thousand enemy shells
Struck the walled town
In the nineteen nineties
During the war
For Croatian independence.
We should be able to tell
Which houses suffered damage
By the new tiles
Visible on rooftops;
Shiny and red
Compared to the originals.
But when we walked the great walls,
When we looked down from above
There were hardly
Any old tiles around.
All looked brand new
As red as the national flag.
Thousands of local people
Used to live within these walls;
Far fewer now
It’s much too expensive,
There’s no more war
But the struggle still continues.