Teesta Review: A
Journal of Poetry, Volume 4, Number 1. May 2021. ISSN: 2581-7094
Ikona*
--- Vasilka Pateras
rusted tin frame
mottled gold
held with tacks
she is crowned Virgin
he King
colours faded
a missing corner
weathered neglect
found in the old village
house
once brimming with
breath
now
dead wasps litter the
floor
a cracked eggshell on
the threshold
cobwebs in place of
curtains
an archaeological dig of
memory
this miniature icon
fragment of another time
candles lit and crosses
made
wicks in wax
the calm of prayer
a filament of family
piety
restitution of fault
lines
of connection in the
spiritual ether
is an object precious
through it being lost
or found
taken from village
icon
cradled in the console
of my car
keeping my secrets
guiding my path
*Translation from
Macedonian
Ikona – icon
I have three photographs
--- Vasilka Pateras
I
a direct look at the
camera
crumpled shirt
no smile
a dutiful son, reluctant
soldier
conscripted into a civil
war
your hold on the rifle
is uneasy
unlike your brother the
partisan
did the owl call early
did you kiss your
daughter
II
you, your wife and baby
girl
hands behind back
no smile
you
tended to the livestock,
worked the fields
a chance to leave
you stayed behind for
grandfather
I look into your face
a gaze is passive yet
tense
what are you thinking
ancient observatories
measure the movement of
sun and moon
but cannot predict fate
what happened that night
in the snow
helping your cousin home
your disappearance
left a puzzle
of silence and tears
did the owl call early
did you kiss your
daughter
III
late summer
sunlight nicks through
the car window
I re-read my mother’s
text to find you
‘you will pass the
church of Sveti Dimitrija on the left…’
a villager on a bicycle
stops to help
looks me in the eye
mnogu ti e teshko za
Dedoti *–
a mass grave
your name missing from
the commemorative wall
a tear on my cheek
did the owl call early
did you kiss your
daughter
*Translation from
Macedonian
mnogu ti e teshko – your
concern for your Grandfather weighs heavily on you