Slavica Gadzova Sviderska (1984) is a poet, researcher, literary translator, doctor of
theory of literature. She is an author of the poetry books Infinity (2001), Letters (2012),
Politics of Love (2015), Bodies (2017), as well the studies Literature and the discourses
of power (2013) and Sense and Absurdity (2016). She researches the discoursers of
power and the political violence in literature. In 2012 she was awarded with “Enhalon”
prize at the Struga Poetry Evenings. In 2016 she won the prize “Karamanov” for the
poetry book Bodies. Her poetry is published in several anthologies of the contemporary
Macedonian poetry and translated into: English, Chinese, Italian, Czech, Slovak, Serbian,
Croatian, Bosnian and Albanian. She is founder and editor of the publishing house
Vostok. She translates poetry and prose from Slovak. She lives and works in Bitola, Macedonia.
MIGRANTS
Fourteen near Veles
run over by train
their bodies were invisible in the darkness
their sloping foreheads stuck on the rails
their coarse throats were dumb voices on the rocks
The dust of Hiran, Benadir and Mudug
of Kabul and Heart
evaporated from their pores
besides an unknown river
Their empty guts, smashed on the rails
filled the guts of the vultures
NEW JUSTIFICATION
To all drivers, taxi drivers
and airport workers
Forgive me
but
when I move elsewhere
I carry with me three lakes
the land around them
the sky over it
the clouds above it
the migratory birds through them
the song in their throats
the roads inscribed beneath their feathers
and the return
tattooed in their genetic code
the yesterday`s smiles
and the tomorrow's bread
That`s why my suitcase
is so heavy.
INFINITE HUNGER
I feed it
with my own flesh and blood
it's the only thing that exists
it becomes greater with every breath
with every look I take
I'm becoming miniature
as it grows
I become smaller
as it broadens
I become narrower
it shines
I become darker
neither can it be satisfied
nor it will be satisfied
ROADS
Too many bags and suitcases
old tickets and some feather of a dove
In which of them should I pack
The map for easier orientation
with instructions for taming the poetic perception
at border crossings
and passport stampings
where should I put
the geopolitical theory of my heart
to head south-northern
with two stamps
one in the passport
and the other on my skin
skin of an animal
waiting to be sacrificed
Translated by Mihajlo Sviderski
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