Jelena Spasic holds an MA in English Language and Literature and works as an English language teacher in a private foreign languages school “Oxford School” in Leskovac. She deeply believes in continuing professional development and has taken part in numerous conferences, Erasmus+ projects and seminars. She is a teacher trainer and an author/co-author of several workshops and accredited seminars. In 2020, she was one of the two teachers from Serbia that were chosen for the Fulbright Teachers in Excellence and Achievement Program.

 

She sleeps

Shhh … she sleeps.

So calm and beautiful

amidst the willows and hollies,

a smile on her face and no worries.

 

Does she dream?

Of roads not taken and dresses not worn,

a plane flight never had, the decisions not made,

the words unspoken, the heights not reached.

 

Does she remember?

Her first kiss, the colour of his eyes,

the wedding night and her children being born.

The first blow, bitterness swallowed with a smile,

his betrayal and the night after.

Chickenpox and illnesses, grazed knees and broken bones,

holidays and long car rides, all the hugs and kisses and love.

 

Does she worry?

If her children are safe and sound, forever protected in her embrace,

if the house is clean and garden mended,

clothes washed and food set on the table,

duties done and pretence well kept.

 

Did she forget?

The throbbing pain, the sorrow, the illness,

long nights in hospital, alone and scared,

bed-ridden and disgraced,

forgotten by God, deceived by Fate, fooled by Life.

 

Yes … she sleeps.

So calm and beautiful

amidst the willows and hollies,

in her green dress, with her thick hair,

a burning imprint on my heart.

Hush!

 

March

O, mighty March,

gather your frosty troops and saddle your bitter horses,

swoop in your icy chariot over the land that fell asleep,

the land that buzzed and greened and budded,

the land that hoped, the land that dreamed.

Cover the endless meadows and hushed cities,

cut through the flesh and bones, freeze and bite,

put on your white coat and sit steadily on your throne,

remind them that nothing is as it seems,

that pretence and indifference bring forward stiffness,

empty minds and frozen hearts.

 

Icicles ring in thin air, bells chime and snowflakes heavily fall,

cleanliness cloaks the desolate land and bereft people.

White blindness or blinded by whiteness?

Stop… and listen.