In Macedonian folklore, witches are sometimes depicted as moths or butterflies
Bed of moth wings gathered at the lakeshore. Speckled
Sightless eyes peak through an unnatural abundance
Of hagstones. All these women in the earth.
I imagine if they had bodies, they’d look
Like me. Widened eyes. Wider hips. Half-parted lips
To reveal a third eye stuck in the gap between front teeth,
Also staring at whatever stirs the lake from below
On a windless night. Impenetrable and awaiting
Opportunities for self-sacrifice. What else fills the heart?
Tiara Dinevska-McGuire (she/her) is a Macedonian-American poet and translator from Cleveland, Ohio. She obtained her MFA from Boston University, where she was a Robert Pinsky Global Fellow. She was named runner-up in Boulevard’s 2023 Poetry Contest for Emerging Poets and a 2024 Inkubator Literary Conference Fellow. Her poetry can be read in The Common, Poet Lore, Mantis, and elsewhere. She lives in Chicago.