WITHOUT A MASK

Light upon light,

a play in the forest,

a firework of colors.

Through a dream, image after image,

a procession of unfamiliar faces,

only one figure

flashing through your pupils,

shining in the darkness,

gazing at you in the night

beneath a moonless sky,

never fading, even in sleep.

Holding on to the handrail,

we climb to the heights,

finding ourselves on the stage,

laughing until we cry,

dancing at a masquerade

of emotions laid bare.

In the morning haze,

our lips cracked from endless chatter,

our stomachs full of cocktails

we sipped through straws.

Deep within the core of the spine,

tingles writhe and ripple,

not from fear,

but from happiness.

Author: Katica Protić, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Biography:  Katica Protić is a Croatian poet and prose writer from Dubrovnik. She is a mother of three and a retired former director of a private company. She has been writing poetry and prose since her early youth. Her literary work is deeply rooted in emotion, human experience, love, pain, and the beauty of life. She has published two independent poetry collections, Maybe We Met in Our Dreams and Love, Pain, Sea and Salt. Her poetry has been featured in more than 100 joint anthologies, with her work represented by anywhere from one to thirty poems in individual collections. She has received approximately 40 certificates of appreciation, commendations, diplomas, and awards, including bronze and gold medals. Among her notable achievements are three consecutive first-place awards in literary competitions in Australia. Her poems have been published internationally, reaching readers and literary publications from Australia to India and the United States. Her prose has also received recognition, with awards in Croatia, the United States, and Australia. Through her poetry and prose, Katica Protić continues to share her personal vision of life, love, human resilience, and the world around her, carrying the voice of a woman whose words are shaped by both experience and emotion.