City of Heroes – A Poem By Katarina Bučić

Katarina Bucic

katarina bucic
Romulic & Stojcic

October the 24th, 2024 – Katarina Bučić is a writer and poet born and raised in Toronto, Canada by first generation Croatian immigrants. She has now returned to the motherland and is living in Zadar, Croatia. Katarina has a long history in creative arts and has a specific passion for poetry. She has taken part in many creative projects and with her recent move to Croatia, her love for her new home has inspired her most recent poetry project, The Heart of Croatia. 

“The Heart of Croatia is guided by my experience of moving from the Western culture of Canada to the deeply historic and magical Croatia. This country has given me a second life. Her beauty overwhelms me, her history devastates me, and her abundance inspires me. Join me in my tribute to this country I now call home and in the evolution of my experiences, and my immersion in her magnificence.” 

Have you heard of the City of Heroes? 

Where war was their soundtrack 

Bombs and missiles 

rang like evil whistles 

A city under attack, 

complete despair 

Boys made into men overnight, 

no time to learn to fight 

20 thousand people 

left without a home 

Rubble beneath their feet 

bodies dead in the street 

There stood a water tower 

with the flag waving above 

A symbol of independence 

a hope for transcendence 

Out of the suffering 

rose a young man 

Who pushed fear aside 

who wanted his people dignified 

Ivica Ivanika, 

watched the water tower 

Bombed more than 600 times 

He had enough of the crimes 

Each time the flag was bombed 

he would climb at night to replace it 

Risking his life in the dark 

to reclaim their landmark 

Each time the enemy 

saw the flag replaced 

Their rage grew in spades, 

they tossed more grenades 

Every night Ivicia climbed, 

his bravery inspiring others 

Hrvoje Džalto joined the mission, 

men tired of the abolition 

The people of Vukovar 

gathered their flags 

So the two men could carry out 

and spark a light in a black out 

The echoes of war, 

tears in the mothers’ eyes 

The fight ensued 

but these two men pursued 

When all else was failing 

lives being taken by the second 

The flag waved in the wind 

like a beacon of hope pinned 

The people kept their eyes fixed 

on any chance of salvation 

Harm, ruin and loss, 

gripping of the cross 

It’s the sacrifice of the people 

to protect one another 

To remind each other of why they fight 

to defend their birth right 

Ivica and Hrvoje, 

your bravery never forgotten 

A mark of their military boots 

engraved at the water tower roots 

Every year people stand it its place 

to be humbly reminded 

That freedom comes at a cost 

and to never forget those we have lost. 

When the anniversary of the Battle of Vukovar was approaching, my husband suggested that maybe I should write a piece on this historical and monumental battle. I was immediately overwhelmed. Although I am of Croatian blood, I am always hesitant to comment on any matters of Croatian politics and/or history because I was not born here and feel like it is not my place to share my opinion on something that I do not understand.  

I sat at my computer for many hours watching videos from the Battle of Vukovar and wept as I witnessed the pain and torture the people of Vukovar endured. There are many points of confliction in topics of politics and war, but one thing I hope we can all empathize with is the suffering of humanity. The weight of war is heavy regardless of your position.  

As I was immersing myself in the sorrow of that time, I came across an incredible story of two men who fought in the Battle of Vukovar, Ivica Ivanika and Hrvoje Džalto. I immediately knew that I had found a way to write about Vukovar from a specific angle that does not involve political opinions, but just the sharing of the courage these two men possessed. Their story was one of hope, of light, in a very dark time. I hope you enjoy their story as much as I did and perhaps one day you too can visit their monument at the bottom of the water tower and stand in the footprints of heroes.  

 

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