Stars

The night I gave birth to you

your grandfather was standing in 

the middle of the yard 

of the old house

and looked up with a finger 

pointing to the sky,

he drew it, cut it, redesigned it

every movement of the stars.

As if creating a celestial map of life.

The moment you opened your eyes,

he tapped his finger as if he meant it

to seal the point of your existence. 

The beginning and end of the map. The star.

Each of us has our own star, 

or a star is each of us,

that's what he was saying.

Repentance

We stood and waited for him

to come

at the exact hour and time.

We confessed everything to each other 

and we forgave each other.

Under the steps covered with laurels

we took them off too 

we laid out our clothes.

We were born naked.

We travel naked.

On the way to the resurrected city,

we are hostages to death

and we await his coming. 

To come, to anoint us,

to show us

- the road ahead of us has no end,

and there is no going back.

Counted Time

I don't notice how 

my day is passing me by.

It's slipping away from me.

Like drops of water

it slips through my fingers.

From one drop to another

I turn into a desert. 

It's thirst, I understand.

And more and more I think, 

the longing exists 

to keep us as human.

But we were birds.

We were flying!

The sky was ours too.

And the country too.

But, then!?

Then we carved out eternity, 

and we split it to 

months and years,

we strung the days in rosaries

and we put them on the arm,

to remind us of

the counted time.

Mirror

'Everyone is a mirror to everyone' - 

the poet Andrei Al Asadi tells me.

To each a sword and balm,

stretched bow and arrow,

cloud and stone to prepare.

I see them in mine

all my creations

of stardust and songs 

(all my lovers).

Every moment of making love

like a little death under the stars.

All the dying, mine and other people's.

Every cursed and unwritten word.

Every scream and every silence.

Every sadness from the silences.

Every pain of expectation.

Everyone, everywhere and to everyone.

Met, sensed, dreamed,

discovered and recognized.

I just don't see myself.

Only me, I'm not there.

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA

SILVANA DIMITRIEVSKA: She was born in 1981. in Skopje. She graduated from the Faculty of Philology 'Blaze Koneski' - Skopje at the Department of General and Comparative Literature in the Macedonian language, and later she also completed the One-Year School for Journalists at MIM (Macedonian Media Institute). She was the coordinator of the literary circle 'Mugri' and the editor of the poetry almanac of the same name. She is the organizer of several poetry readings and promotions. Silvana writes poetry, short prose, essays and haiku verses published in the first Macedonian haiku magazine Mravka. She is the author of the anthology Angels with five wings, published as part of Struga evenings of poetry. She appears as a reviewer of several collections of poetry by young, but also by already renowned authors. She is the winner of the second and third 'Blaze Koneski' prize for a scientific essay. For her first collection of poetry, “You, who came out of a song”, she won the prestigious national award 'Atso Karamanov'. For her short story 'Butterfly Skirt' she won the first prize at the national competition 'I tell a photo 2021'. She is the winner of the third prize at the international poetry festival 'Vigil of Kokinski Mugri 2022' and the second prize at the same poetry festival for 2023. In 2023, she won the second prize at the international poetry festival for children's poetry 'Stihuvalki'. In 2023, at the international poetry festival 'Literary Sparks 2023', she was also the winner of the second prize, and at the same poetry festival in 2024, she was again the winner of the second prize. In 2023, she was declared one of the laureates of the prestigious 'Naji Naaman' world prize for poetry and was awarded the title of honorary member of the Academy of Culture of the same name in Lebanon. In 2023, she won the third prize for poetry at the international poetry festival 'Tafil Kelmendi' in Kosovo. In 2024, she was also the winner of the third prize at the international poetry festival 'Antevo slovo'. Recently, she was announced as one of the winners of the prestique International Acadenic Award of Conttemporary Literature “Lucius Annaes Seneca” from Academy of Philosophical Arts and Science, Italy.