“Mole-Eagle” by Ani Ilkov

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The Season of Delicate HungerFor the first time she saw the world like this
not a world but a map
not a map but a slit stomach
draining fecal waters
the very blandness of life

She knew—whizzing around her
was neither dirt nor sand
and by the chill she realized—
her world had gone bankrupt
but she ascended
and ascended
upwards

Never before had she seen such
an unchangeable world with unclean
rivers running across
and drops of tears and blood
marking the path below
which had no turning back

-Ani Ilkov, 
translated from the Bulgarian
by Katerina Stoykova-Klemer
The Season of Delicate Hunger:
Anthology of Contemporary Bulgarian Poetry
(Accents Publishing)

Ani Ilkov was born on January 11th, 1957 in Ruzhintsi. He holds a degree in Bulgarian philology from St. Kliment Ohridski University in Sofia. He has worked as an editor and journalist, and has served as a visiting professor in Great Britain and India. Ani is a cofounder of the respected weekly literary gazette Literaturen Vestnik. He is the author of 10 books, including eight poetry collections, most recently Collected (2011). Ani currently lives and works in Sofia.
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