Death is a central theme in much of Kovačić's poetry, however this is not a reflection on his life outlook. His melancholy subjects came from outside events—such as his own and his brother's affliction with tuberculosis—rather than from an internal disposition toward the morose. Jure Kaštelan, one of Kovačić's contemporaries, expressed that Kovačić was inclined both toward romanticism and realism in his poetry, and that Kovačić had an intense perception of life. His best known work is
"Jama" (
"The Pit"). He penned it during the war, while in service near the town of
Livno. The poem was written out of intellectual and ethical responsibility that condemns atrocities and massacres done by the Croatian
Ustaše. It has been described as a metaphor about the sufferer, martyr, and victim: “The sufferer is when a person without fault suffers. The martyr is when nonhumans torture a person. The victim is when the whips of injustice extinguish life. That is Goran’s metaphor. And his life.” His work is an example of
anti-war poetry with messages against torture, mass murders and war crimes. "Jama" was studied in elementary schools throughout the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
"Jama" at the
Jasenovac concentration camp memorial area The poem starts with a striking metaphor of blood replacing both light and darkness as victim's eyes were plucked out with a knife. That common torture was probably a mere sadism, since the victims were mass-murdered by Croatian
Ustaše after that anyway: :
Blood is my daylight and darkness too. :
Blessing of night has been gouged from my cheeks :
Bearing with it my more lucky sight. :
Within those holes, for tears, fierce fire inflamed :
The bleeding socket as if for brain a balm – :
While my bright eyes died on my own palm Other standard poetry Other poetry written in
Serbo-Croatian: • ''''
Dialectal poetry His dialectal poems: •
Angeli su zišli (1930) •
Balada (1931) •
Beli most (1940) •
Bik •
Breskva •
Cirkva na bregu (1931) •
Črni oblaki (kaj su se) •
Črni oblaki (prnjàvi siromaki) •
Dar divana •
Drvarska popevka •
Drvlje •
Dva grozda •
D’žd, sonce i stari mlinar •
Gospocka ruka •
Harmonika (1931) •
I k meni je Nikola prišel (1930) •
Iz grožđa bo mošt (unpublished) •
Jeden je vumrl (1931) •
Kaj opet grmi?! (Ne ratujte…) (1931) •
Konj •
Konji i nebo •
Mak i ciklama (1931) •
Mala trgačica •
Mali oblak •
Mali pot •
Malin (1931) •
Martinova brada •
Moji spominki •
Na grobek sestrici mojoj (1930) •
Na Sesvete (1931) •
Očina kolajna •
Oni niso znali za Don Quijota* •
Petr Breški harmonikaš •
Petrica Kerempuh •
Popevka drobnoj dečici z grada (1930) •
Potok •
Prijatelj smrti •
Primorka •
Pripovetka o jelenu •
Proleče •
Puntar Grabancijaš •
Ribe •
Rodni kraj •
Senja (1931) •
Sestrin grob (1929) •
Slobodni sin •
Sonce i seljak •
Srčecu mojem (1930) •
Sreča •
Starinska klet (1931) •
Trgatva •
Tuna Rog •
V nedelu na večer (1931) •
V noći (1931) •
V protuletje (Protuletje je tu) (1931) •
V protuletje (Z jabuk su padale) (1931) •
Valcer •
Vesela cerkva •
Vino •
Vumrl je starček •
Vuzmena noć (1931) •
Zadnji glasi (1929) •
Zakaj? (1931) HR-AHAZU-KN-105-4.pdf|
Dar divana (original) HR-AHAZU-KN-105-5.jpg|
Drvarska popevka (original) HR-AHAZU-KN-105-25.jpg|
Iz grožđa bo mošt (original, unpublished) HR-AHAZU-KN-105-16.pdf|
Sreča (original) HR-AHAZU-KN-105-26.pdf|
Oni niso znali (original) ==In culture==