‘Next June, The Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent, in his capacity as Inspector General of the Austrian Army will attend the summer maneuvers of the Sixth District Army to be held in Bosnia. A visit to Sarajevo will follow ending on the 28th of June…’ newspaper clipping.

The youth at the cafe table stares at the black letters,

His lips move as he rereads the words,

The white and black turn scarlet in his mind,

‘I shall shatter walls and windows

and the shards shall carve the future,

My ghost shall shriek down the halls of Vienna

and rock the very throne…’,

He coughs, and feels the sudden pain in his lungs,

Gavrilo says to his companions,

‘Next June we have a date with destiny….’

And the world will be changed for ever.

Europe erupts

Shock -troops swarm over Serbia

As Russian cross-hairs drift west

And Prussia, must…