KOSTIS PALAMAS-NATIONAL POET OF GREECE

Hedonism
A fleshless string of beads made of songs
I haven’t given you today
with the spells and games of a charmer
I’ll cloy you, my love.

Naked. And like a vine I’ll climb
to taste your body that devours me
the tender hairs of your mound
with my fingers I’ll conflagrate

wine that enraptures and milk that soothes
to sleep, drop by drop I’ll bring,
to moisten you with all my body

and on your white sculptured legs
two vases that drive me crazy,
my honey, like a maniac, at last, I’ll ejaculate.

Ἡδονισμός
Ἀπὸ τραγούδια ἒν᾿ ἄυλο κομπολόϊ
σ᾿ ἐσὲ δὲν ἦρθα σήμερα νὰ δώσω.
Μὲ τὰ παιγνίδια ἐγὼ θὰ σὲ λιγώσω
καὶ μὲ τὰ ξόρκια, ἀγάπη μου, ἑνὸς γόη.
Γυμνοί. Καὶ σὰν κισσὸς θὰ σκαρφαλώσω
γιὰ νὰ φάω τὸ κορμί σου ποὺ μὲ τρώει.
Τοῦ λαγκαδιοῦ σου τὴ δροσάτη χλόη
μὲ τὸ χέρι θρασὰ θὰ τὴν πυρώσω.
Τὸ κρασὶ ποὺ ξανάφτει καὶ τὸ γάλα
ποὺ κοιμίζει, θὰ φέρω στάλα-στάλα,
μ᾿ ὅλο μου τὸ κορμί, νὰ σὲ ποτίσω.
Καὶ στὰ πόδια σου τ᾿ ἀσπροσκαλισμένα,
δύο βάζα ποὺ μοῦ παίρνουνε τὰ φρένα,
στερνὴ μανία τὸ μέλι μου θὰ χύσω.

~Translated by Manolis Aligizakis