Questions for Srojan

Olga-Maria Cruz

Inspired by the website Window-Swap

What are those hills, Srojan, in your view of Sarajevo? Whose statue is in the square outside your open window? What is the five-story building, pale yellow stucco with dark finials on its minarets? Just a church? Apartments? Or a monastery? A hospital? How are the streets so quiet as the bells strike one? Do you often hear birdsong from the stand of pine trees just outside your home? Can you smell the pines? Is that why you opened the window? Why are the birds so quiet now? How old are you, Srojan? What was it like—do you remember?—when our bombs rained down on Sarajevo?