I’M AFRAID OF LOVE

No, I don’t like mornings that awaken me

with a tear in my eye.

I don’t like vanity that poisons the soul,

nor a heart filled with sorrow and pain,

a pain that breaks the sighs,

that breaks everything

that was once beautiful.

It turns all the beauty of living

into the darkness of night.

A colorful rose,

just beginning to bloom,

is broken by the wind,

its crown shattered in blossom

just as it begins to form.

I don’t like

that I have become a face with many faces,

hiding my sorrow

behind a mask of smiles.

I exchanged the beauty

of awakening mornings

for the darkness of twilight.

I became my own marionette,

with strings in my hands,

strings of different colors.

I weave them

into the colors of my face

according to my needs.

And yet,

if only I could bring back

the old me,

place her once again

upon the pedestal of truth,

not lies…

Because a mask itself is a lie

that hides the truth.

If only I could

love again—

I’m afraid of love.

I’m afraid of the night

that brings pain with it.

I’m afraid of dying once again.

I’m afraid of a kiss,

afraid that it might intoxicate me.

Because I would sink

into a delirium

with no way back.

Katica Protić, Dubrovnik, Croatia

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.