We love the contact we have with all our readers, the daily photos, letters, comments and videos we receive fill our social media and inbox. However, one reader from the UK has been a little more creative than normal and written a poem.

“I recently wrote a poem about an experience which I had in a Croatian fishing village on the island of Korčula - Prigradica, whilst on holiday,” wrote Cameron Reed from Durham in the UK.

Adding that “The poem itself is about pain of the past and the suffering which can occur if one allows the inner-pain to take control of life. This pain which can be felt throughout the majority of the poem, concludes in the final verses by showing that through the power of love and embracing simplicity, even the most painful of traumas can be shifted.”

And here is his poem in full:

Parables from Croatia: The Fishing Village

During a scorching afternoon at the end of May, back in 2023, former Croatian serviceman, Tomislav, and I, ambled down the rugged foothills of Southern Dalmatia, sweating profusely, with the aim of carrying a Gorenje refrigerator down to the car in order to transport it to Tomislav’s parents’ home in Prigradica, where my significant other and myself were blissfully staying. The conversation went a bit like this:

So, you’d like to discuss about what happened at Vukovar?
Well, young man, we best save that until we get to the bar.

For I have pain in every quarter, stuck inside all jumbled and deep,
sometimes, it hurts so much, that all I can do is sit back and weep.

I can achingly recall each and every conversation with my parents that were had,
to be honest with you, the topics were enough to make any grown man sad.

We fought tooth and nail for the heroic defence of our land,
even to this day, there will still be blood embedded beneath the sand.

Nowadays, I work long and hard at the port, repairing damaged ships, mostly to forget.
Yet, it does not always mean that time successfully heals you from your regret.

A shot of Borovnica after work alongside a warm dish put onto the table,
these pleasures of life are enough to make any Croatian man feel stable.

When the lady of my dreams, Anita, came into my life and became my wife,
she was able to help me to get past some of those deep scars of strife.

Therefore, rejoice, dear child, for you’re now in the world’s most beautiful place!
Living here makes you understand that time is simply no longer a race.

Why don’t you grab a hold of your beloved one’s hand and take her down to the sea?
It shall teach you both that life is to be enjoyed and lived at every possible degree.

If you need to find me again, in this life or the next, I will be sitting here on the hill by the tree – enjoying an ice-cold Karlovačko onwards anytime from quarter-past three.

Just remember this: "God Helps Those Who Help Themselves."