Neo-Hellene Poets, an Anthology of Modern Greek Poetry

IN THE CONCH
Deep in the conch
I hide the flutes and violins
entrusting my soul
to your fleshless embrace
but your eyes did not reopen
nor your seductive talk resume.
They were palaces with no foundation
in the wide seas.
So I cast the chains and steel
of all my heavy, circular
old concerns
and all my desperation
and as the moments and the hours
of all the time persist
among the wildest tempests
I harvest roses and froth.
Beyond myself
and for the first time
with the gull’s open
wings I fly
and I dive with the dolphin
that shone once
in the immenseness
of forgetfulness
deep in the conch
where I hide the flutes and violins.

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Orange

Newspaper
He opened the newspaper
under the light of the kitchen
seeking to brighten the news
of last night’s muggings,
break-ins, and murders.
After he took a deep breath
knowing he contributed
in beautifying the world
of this ugly modern city
he put the coffee pot on
as if he had to go to war again
and needed his morning fix

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Kariotakis-Polydouri, The Tragic Love Story

Civil Servants
The civil servants melt and wither
in pairs like columns in the office
the city and Death must be
the electricians who replenish them.
They sit on their chairs, they scribble
without reason on innocent white paper
along with this correspondence
we have the honour they affirm
and only honour’s left to them
when they climb up the street
at night eight o’clock as if tuned
they buy chestnuts, think of the law,
the exchange rate and shrug their shoulders
the poor civil servants.

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