This poem was inspired by folklore about devils and stories I’ve heard about The Devil visiting various communities. I used mistranslations of different cryptid lore and paired it with English and Mi’kmaw language—as Mi’kmaq is a verb-based language, it’s interesting to me to bring it into a genre where objects and subjects are alive and, sometimes, supernaturally alive.
The perfect mntu, devil
is described
as human, not human,
a thought in the body,
a giant human owl,
megweg, blood-red,
an abandoned house,
the subject of applause—
when he arrives
(gwilu megwe’gig-
Look for the red ones.)
(Waju’et tepgunset nige’.
It is now a full moon.)
he does not melt
like shape and form,
metal eyes and horns,
a tree branch—
petasenmat, he comes walking
with a light or torch,
when they see him
walking on the road
many people are
afraid to show their thoughts
and be revealed.
