Browse Tagged “Family and Generations” from the Canadian Macedonian Heritage Society archive, library and community collections.
Ten boys from Sklithro Were called by their homeland To go and defend The duty of the state. One would be an infantryman, Another a driver, A third would become a cook, And one a captain. All of them kept wondering; At night they could not sleep: “But what do I know about driving? I was born a farmer.” They became close friends, Together every evening — One night they felt sorrow, The next they ...
Mother, all the young men are leaving far away. They go to find work — they are all at the ports. I too must leave somewhere else, wherever fate may take me, since it was God’s will to make me their protector. “Where will you leave me, my son, with three little girls?” “But that is why I must go, Mother — I am not searching for palaces. There is no work here nearby. Give me all your blessings; I ...
At the dawn of the century, In a small and humble village, In the heart of winter’s cold, A baby came into the world. Three Fates had descended there To write the child’s destiny, And before the morning came, Her future had been sealed. They wrote a sorrowful fate, Though the child bore no blame, A burden bound to follow her Forever, without escape. She never knew her father, For he had already ...
It was the month of August, With rains and raging storms; Everyone hurried to their homes, Leaving their daily cares behind. The three rivers joined as one Near Saint Dimitrios’ shrine, Flooding everywhere and everything, Reaching close to Stasos’ house. We saw an old woman running, Barefoot through the rain; And though the downpour did not cease, She entered Stasos’ yard. Geraka came out alone ...
I found my ancestors, And lit small candles With tears within my eyes. I spoke a few soft words to them — Though our little bones May rest in foreign soil, All our souls will meet again. Three friends came to the village From Canada afar. We gathered at the coffeehouse And passed our days in joy. Four bachelors arrived together, And married men departed; All four of us it seemed Had come away as ...
From the village we arrived At Bloor and Margaretta . There we met each other And lived ten by ten together. We formed a little colony, A migrant nest abroad. Families came one by one— With elders and with little children. The colony kept filling, Margaretta overflowed. Our village emptied slowly As people left ten by ten. Families grew larger, And there was no room for us all. The sorrows of the ...
GUS and GASTIS from the village Decided to open a restaurant. The two of them agreed at once Without a single comment. One would stand at the register The other would work in the kitchen. Soon they would open the doors And money would begin to pour in. A sign out front they prepared With their names displayed. Workers laboured inside And the two of them helped as well. Above the door the sign ...
“Wife, they called on the telephone— the little ones are coming. Prepare the minced meat, we’ll make some meatballs.” One wants leek pie, another spinach pie. Beautiful red peppers— those will be stuffed. We cleared some space then so no one would get hurt. Grandmother flies with joy and grandfather follows behind. “Leave the kitchen now, go bring the wine and the big baking pan for the cheese ...
In a little donut shop , as we call it here, they gather every Saturday to talk about the village dear. One of them can barely hear, another has lost his mind, all with snowy-white hair now, seventy years behind. One of them is diabetic, his hands begin to shake, and the other, big and heavy, keeps needing bathroom breaks. One believes he’s wiser still, he talks about Viagra. “A great thing!” ...
When I was just a little child. One evening I sat by the doorway, the yard with flowers running wild, and green the grasses all around. Voices drifted from afar— they watered their gardens there. It must have been a full moon night; the violets bloomed in the air. The night owl cried out mournfully, as if it had been wounded. The stars shone high above the sky like a diamond veil suspended. From ...
