Remember :: Croatia

Aboard the train in Zagreb 
The gypsies' pungent pong grabbed
Our throats as we succumb 
To imagined floods of dread.
Bragging their bags of plunder 
All eye contact surrendered 
In fear we'd be surrounded 

Compartment barricaded 
Worn vinyl seats squeaked and squealed 
Cracked dusty windows rattled
Their sulphuric stench linger 
Not oblivious to danger 

Knock. Knock. "Passport!" he screamed 
In the midst of our swaying dreams 
He appeared with a black briefcase
His facial features were blurred
His existence we only heard?
Our memories remained concussed 
But in the passport stamps we trust

Screeched to a halt into Split
A curly female louse spat
"Zimmer frei" and blocked the exit.
"No thank you" was repeatedly.
Before her hooked pincers closed
DEET was sprayed in deadly dose

When the dawn's verbal storm cleared
We found ourselves asleep
Soundly on white fluffy sheets.
Deafening church bells next door
Burst right through the window panes 
Weaved lullabies into dreams

In slumber we remembered 
Curious children drawn like magnets
Toward oriental Piped Piper.
Accustomed to Germanic invasions
Who lay beached dotted in their vision 

Along Dalmatia's black and white rock faces
Bus driver gambled our lives in a frightening pace
The cross adorned on the window flashed in his face 
As he zig-zagged in the barrier-less race
Prayed negotiation success on his mobile with the Pope

Dubrovnik's pock marked walls
Told silent stories of those who fell
Contrast with the old man in black
Licking his ice cream as the pigeons pecked
Crumbs between peaceful cobbled cracks

Steps of Church of Saint Blaise we sat 
Time passed as we people watched
"12 o'clock" I whispered
Someone watching us too we feared.
In realisation of the glare of a scarecrow in gear
In stitches we endured and teared