What’s weird is that this morning

I woke up with your name in my teeth

I had a dream about you

or maybe it was about a cousin

on the Bugojno side

Someone I’ve never met

just seen

in photos

in front of the rebuilt city hall in Sarajevo

the rebuilt Turkish bridge in the town I was born

Standing

young and earnest

in the face of our history.

Not unlike you,

Hamza Hamza Hamza Hamza Hamza

Until it becomes a purr in the deep belly

of a lion.

I hadn’t thought about you in weeks

Not since you wrote

How bad it is!!

Trying to convince the world that you are dying.

That was months ago and

since then,

you have fallen silent and

since then,

who has been convinced?



On Oct 13 2023, Hamza Ahmed (@hamzahjazar) tweeted these words. He has not tweeted since.

The name Hamza Ahmed Mustafa Al-Jazzar is listed among the dead. He was twenty-four years old.