IMAGES OF ABSENCE-ΕΙΚΟΝΕΣ ΑΠΟΥΣΙΑΣ

ΠΑΡΑΛΛΑΓΗ

Φύσηξε ο αγέρας
τα πεσμένα φύλλα
γέμισε θάνατο το πεζοδρόμιο
καθώς ο νους μου έτρεξε
στο χαμογέλιο σου
και ξάφνου είδα ένα χορό
μπροστά στα μάτια μου
παράξενο των φύλλων
ν’ αρχινά που λες ζωντάνεψαν
μέσα στη νέκρα τους
και σιγοτραγουδούσαν

τίποτα δεν πεθαίνει
ρυθμό μόνο αλλάζει
η ζωή και φόρεμα

CAMOUFLAGE

Wind blew
the fallen leaves
death took over
the sidewalk
and my mind
ran to your smile and
suddenly I saw a strange
dance before my eyes
the leaves had commenced
in the slumber
of their death
as if alive they sang

nothing dies
life only changes
its dress and rhythm

~IMAGES OF ABSENCE-ΕΙΚΟΝΕΣ ΑΠΟΥΣΙΑΣ, Ekstasis Editions, Victoria, BC, 2015

‘The merging points: an experience in creative collaboration’ by Manolis

Manolis

When I first approached the celebrated painter Ken Kirkby with my idea for a collaboration in creating and publishing a book with his paintings and my poems, I was moved by an artist’s quest for assimilation and search for that common denomination that joins, defines, compliments the work of one through the work of the other. I had never imagined that the result would be a book of such elegance and grace, a book of such warmth and endless light, merging into a delightful balance of both art forms, intermingling in an almost liturgical celebration of the cosmos with all its greatness in its mega or its micro expression.

VESPERS, the book that resulted from this collaboration surely celebrates our labour to successfully evoke a meaning and dynamism at the center of uncertainty and mystery that the world exhumes in every breath it takes; it celebrates the revealing of…

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Chapter 7 of ‘The Circle’ a novel on Iraq by Manolis

Manolis

“Manolis weaves an intriguing tale of international malfeasance and its effects on many including two Iraqi war orphans in America and their lovers…”
– Ben Nuttall-Smith

Circle is a political intrigue story that reflects recent world events and their aftermath. The characters are caught between circumstances of their cultures and politics of the times, players who are not what they portray: naïve and cunning, loyal and duplicitous, sentimental and appetite driven.

Hakim wakes up and turning to his side, he looks at Jennifer who’s still asleep. She looks beautiful when she’s asleep, like an angel, he thinks, and he runs his hand down her body.
Like an angel with a nice ass. He smiles at the thought.
It’s Tuesday, 6:00 in the morning, and he has to meet his uncle at the hotel for their ride to the airport. He hurries to the shower. When he’s out of the shower…

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VORTEX by MANOLIS ALIGIZAKIS-PAINTING by GIANNIS STRATIS

CLOE and ALEXANDRA-POETRY TRANSLATED BY MANOLIS ALIGIZAKIS

Perfect Day

It wasn’t the seashore
of Salonica during the daybreak
so cleanly washed by
the hues of the rain
nor the sea
hoarse, violent,
wild lion with blue flames,
it wasn’t the benches in rows
with the fatty loneliness
of their emptiness,
it was that last night I dreamed
perhaps for once
for the first time, first time death
you entered my body
behind my soul
under the mouths of the body
you entered me and stayed.

Η τέλεια μέρα

Δεν ήταν η παραλία
Θεσσαλονίκη ξημερώματα
τόσο τέλεια ξεπλυμένη
στις αποχρώσεις της βροχής,
ούτε η θάλασσα
βραχνή, ορμητική
άγριο λιοντάρι με γαλάζιες φλόγες,
δεν ήταν οι φέτες τα παγκάκια
με την παχύρρευστη μοναξιά
του άδειου τους κενού,
ήταν πως χθες βράδυ ονειρεύτηκα
ότι έστω για μια φορά
φορά πρώτη, φορά θάνατος
ήρθες μέσα μου
πίσω από την ψυχή,
κάτω από τα στόματα του κορμιού,
ήρθες και έμεινες.
Sweet Afternoon

The shape of the square
the shape of the houses which delineate it,
with lit arcades, open air restaurants
and cafes.
Here the young people gather
flood the sidewalks
leave no empty table.
The futility and sensual life of the city
drowned together, dissolved
into the sweet afternoon.
And yet it was inescapable.
Here, where beauty thickened
I entered in awe.

Γλυκό απόγευμα

Το σχήμα της πλατείας,
το σχήμα των σπιτιών που την καθόριζαν,
με φωτεινές καμάρες, υπαίθρια εστιατόρια
και καφετέριες.
Σ’ αυτόν τον χώρο συνωστίζονταν η νεολαία,
κατέκλυζε τα πεζοδρόμια,
δεν άφηνε τραπέζι για τραπέζι.
Η ματαιότητα κι τρυφηλή ζωή της πόλης
πνίγονταν, διαχέονταν
μες στο γλυκό απόγευμα.
Κι όμως ήταν αναπόφευκτο:
σ’ αυτόν τον χώρο που έπηζε η ομορφιά
μπήκα με δέος.

~ “Cloe and Alexandra”, Translated by Manolis Aligizakis, Libros Libertad, 2013