Annie Katchinska

St Dunstan’s College, Catford, London

Margarita
after Mikhail Bulgakov

This is the devil’s work. This magic’s black.
God wouldn’t dare let naked women fly.
Breathe in this godless air and don’t look back.

Now – cross the city, bloated with maniacs
who lose their heads, tear down the street and cry.
This is the devil’s work. This magic’s black.

The stars curl in, let the giggling zodiac
bind your cold limbs in sin. Is your mouth dry?
Breathe in this godless air and don’t look back

at your earth-stuck goodness, your sad grey almanac.
You’ve sworn, haven’t you, to love like a demon, fry
in hell and devil’s work. This magic’s black:

let it hold you – on this night for insomniacs! –
untouched. Don’t ask how, don’t waste love on why.
Breathe in this godless air and don’t look back.