The Ghost Of Kosovo Poem by Lekë Loshi

In the silent city
There lurks a ghost
In the skies orange and pretty
There was a common host
And now faded and dead,
We can only perceive it in our ancient poems
Our ancient verses, the ancient cordiality
The once gay now silent homes
We caress it in our long dreams of amiability
That instantly vanished and remain hidden
Like our ancient ghost


In the silent streets of midnight slumber
When only the blackbirds sonorously crow
They spread their black wings
In these streets dark and sombre
The ghost lurks in a once shiny borough
Now covered with ash, a tall piece of ember
The ghost’s layer now blind and hollow
Once dynamic and living
Surrounded by children’s gaiety
Now our dead neighbour
Is either forced to live in memories
Or to haunt our silent cities
Which are just as ancient and old
As this ghost that lurks in the cold

-Dedicated to my old neighbours