seven
Tragedy, Comedy
the favourable celebrations
for the joy of the Soul
threat or a promise.
Human morality
or saintly punishment
the term of hubris
Ugga
Liquid Labyrinth
Encouraging
Biztató
My grayness melted into fresh death gleaming,
churches on fire, the city smokes,
my face is still of blood steaming,
and the years have left me in the image stocks.
- Who brought me the worldly corruption twist?
the smell of death penetrated my wrist, –
my days keep the fresh swearing,
like a newborn keeps the stale air in.
Sometimes the summer took advantage of me, winters came at me - its rainbows sat next to my doubts,
you had to listen, there was a seal on my mouth, you see,
this is how my evening tried to find the way out.
I ran away although I was a coward - the landscape is silent, the dead rest in wilt,
they left no mark on morals,
although a wraith writhed in guilt.
You’re closer to blood than a kiss of chastity - a man with a glassy face thought of a rhyme,
- I ask for Samson’s strength for the reality,
because this is how the immune system encouraged mine.
Living a hermit life in the desert keeps me well,
where the coastal cacti hug to survive,
as the handsome heart got a spell,
which the crystal cortex has kept alive.
He Rode Tall
excerpt
He was afraid. He was afraid of hearing “no,” and that
answer rupturing the wonderful relationship and the good thing
that they have going. Yet, he felt that he needed more. More of
Cindy. He couldn’t get this wonderful woman out of his mind.
Anticipating some of the barriers, Joel already knew that getting
Lila to school would be a problem. Living in town, the elementary
school was only a short ten-minute walk from her
home. Out here, the bus ride would take nearly an hour each way
to get to the closest school at Fort Hope. And what about Cindy’s
job at the auction mart? With Great Falls being hours away it just
didn’t make sense for her to travel to work from the ranch. And
what about the loneliness? Sure, there was a few other ranch
families scattered through the hills, but there wasn’t anywhere
near the kind of active social life here that one would have in the
city. He only could think of the barriers, and for that reason, he
decided not to jeopardize the relationship by asking her to join
him on the ranch. But he also was afraid that if he didn’t step
their relationship up to the next level that sooner or later some
city guy would discover the leggy, attractive, and intelligent
blonde. And then who knew what might happen. It was in this
state of confusion that Joel lay there in his bed as Cindy dressed
for the drive home at the end of the day.
Slipping into his jeans once Cindy was ready to leave, he
walked her out to her truck and stood there in his Wranglers,
watching the taillights of her vehicle disappear into the hills
heading back to Great Falls.
The Incidentals
Grease
He has eaten tablespoons of grease
a lifetime under the hood of cars
to change oil, lubricate, maintain
people’s cars, to earn a living,
enough to enjoy his favorite drink
at the neighborhood pub, a small local
bar, small things, small rewards,
the auto mechanic tied to a short rope
his dad once said, “Learn a trade
one day it might come to your help”
and Basil with his rachitic back still
stoops under the hood of old cars
screwing or unscrewing nuts or bolts
sighs or groans constantly heard
where fate has thrown him to live
his simple life patiently and
still recall when he started back
then, a young man optimistic about
his future, only to understand that
for some future meant subsistence
while others sleep in their satin
sheets and stretch their limbs as
if this privilege was only theirs
Still Waters
excerpt
“I don’t feel comfortable talking to Mrs. Shaughnessy. I think she
pushed Curly into doing something she didn’t want to do.”
Nevertheless, the two nurses took the bus to the Shaughnessy
home on Saturday afternoon. Curly’s mother greeted them at the
door and ushered them into the sitting room.
“You both look wonderful,” she said as they made themselves
comfortable on the sofa across from her. “And Maureen, it’s so nice
to see you again. Where have you been hiding?”
Moe cast her eyes down and fidgeted with the crease in her slacks.
“I haven’t been hiding, Mrs. Shaughnessy. I just haven’t felt comfortable
coming around to see you.”
Tyne glanced at their hostess and saw her eyes open wide. “Why
ever not?”
Tyne held her breath as she felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment.
What did Moe intend to say next? Maybe they should
not have come. Oh God, don’t let her make a scene.
Moe leaned slightly forward. “I’m sorry to say this, and forgive me
if I’m wrong, but I thought you held it against us for what happened
to Curl … Carol Ann.”
The shock on Mrs. Shaughnessy’s face was evident. For a moment
she stared at Moe, then she seemed to struggle to find her voice. “Oh,
my dear girl, I did not hold anything against you … either one of you.
Why should I? Carol Ann acted on her own, I knew that.”
She looked down, fumbled for a handkerchief from her sleeve and
brought it to her suddenly moist eyes. “I’m sorry if I treated you
badly. I was embarrassed and ashamed. Such a thing had never happened
in our family, and it was so dreadful in the eyes of the church.”
She looked up, and Tyne saw that her lips were trembling. “Please
forgive me for the way I acted. You were always such good friends to
Carol Ann.”
Tyne felt helpless in her compassion for the woman. She wanted
to go to her and hug her, but she didn’t know how the older woman
would react to such a display of emotion. Moe, however, had no
such inhibitions. To Tyne’s surprise, she rose from the sofa and, going
quickly to Curly’s mother, bent down and enveloped her in a full
embrace. They clung together while Tyne watched through her tears.
She dried her eyes and squeezed Moe’s hand as her friend resumed
her seat. She hoped Moe knew how grateful she felt.
Twelve Narratives of the Gypsy
THE VIOLIN
The light came and the young man
recognized himself
~ D. Solomos
Their hands reversed your dress that excited
their fantasy. In your royal gown they defiled you,
the glorified, and they condemned you, the master.
~ V. Hugo
In each child, in each dawn, the holy imagination
is reborn
~Lenau
Day and night my mind
became such a sea wave.
Men of different races
call me a gypsy; the gypsies
call me of a different race
the workers call me lazy
the golden-hearted cry for me
the revellers don’t want me
the healthy called me invalid
the invalid called me clown
dreamers looked at me with
strange eyes as if I started
an improper, foreign dream
as I pass the ghosts despise
my body and like a curse…
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Hours of the Stars
Argo
Ship weaved
on the abyss of our hands
ship lost
in the angelic sound of two hasty arms.
The North wind engaged
when we emigrated to the shores of the universe
holding in our arms the Epitaphios and
the Athesterean.*
Who with his finger showed us
the royal manner of the horizon?
Medusa
Target
Ahmed rolls up the shutters of his shop
enters darkness
his flashlight lighted
gazes around the meagre supplies
covered by dust
needs to clean up before he opens
for the neighbourhood customers
places the flashlight on a shelf
grabs a piece of cloth from the counter
suddenly, the familiar hellish sound
pierces his ears: guided smart bomb
blows two stores next to his
ground recedes, firms up, trembles
like Ahmed’s legs, hell on earth
recommenced, a defence contractor’s
smart weapon has found its target
Yannis Ritsos – Poems, Volume II
Encounter
The light has a yellow shade on the facades of the houses.
The shadow of the leafless trees on the walls and in the street
resemble the shadow of foreign soldiers with the machine guns.
The shadows have changed
the voices have changed — they’ve become hesitant, like
someone who is trying to find a street number, he makes two
steps, looks at the window, where is the doorbell? What
sound would the doorbell make in the hallway with
the unfamiliar stairs?
When you say tomorrow is as if you want to console someone.
You don’t talk. The rooms feel sleepy in the silence.
The fingertips of silence remain on the shelves, the chairs,
the railings of the bed, like a sick woman who gets up
in the night to get a glass of water. She can’t stand. She leans
on the furniture, she trips on her nighty and falls again
on her bed before she finds the water pitcher.
We were thirsty.
Loneliness never had a glass of water.
Her trembling fingertips still stay on the dusty surfaces.
Back then we had time. We watered the rose-garden.
We chit-chatted.
It isn’t the same anymore. Now you count words and colors.
You can’t establish their weight.
Alice died. She will never be in our company anymore,
as during those afternoons when we dreamed of things.
Her summer shoes
will remain under her bed like two white dead birds and
her little watch, stopped, on the empty table, like a star
you see through the window shutters of the desolate
house.
The Circle
excerpt
“Iraq is very hot place, Jennifer, but it is a beautiful. So far, everything looks
good, although one can see all the destruction still in a lot of places. It’s so sad to see
how some people live, so sad.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Are you having a good time, though?”
“Well, yes, I suppose. We’ll be going scuba diving in the gulf in the next couple of
days. I will not be able to talk to you from there, I suppose; however, I’ll talk to you
when I get back, okay?”
“Yes, Mom. Take a lot of pictures, remember?”
“Yes, Jennifer. Bye for now; I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
Hakim hugs her and says, “There you are. They’re doing fine; my uncle also
sounded good, and Talal sounds good, too.”
“Why do you wonder how Talal is doing?”
“I have always worried how he would feel returning to his home and how he
would find it after all this time.His house has been uninhabited for a long time, the
same as mine.However, Talal hasn’t gone to the old house yet; he saw his sister and
young brother, though. His sister will be getting married next summer.”
“Oh, that’s nice. What are the weddings like there, honey?”
“It all depends, sweetie.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, for the people who follow religion, it’s different from the ones who do
not follow it as much like us; my uncle and Mara have been quite liberal when it
comes to religion and we just don’t follow strict church rules of any kind.”
Jennifer looks him in the eyes and asks, “Have you ever thought of getting
married, honey?”
He’s silent for a while. This is a question he hasn’t thought about before, and
now he must answer her.
“No, I haven’t thought of it, sweetie. Have you?”
“No, I haven’t. But now that the subject of marriage has been brought up, it
made me think of it.”
“Maybe one day, sweetheart. Maybe one day, I’ll think about it.”
Jennifer gets up and makes their breakfast; they sit quietly and eat their toast
with marmalade. She thinks Hakim probably has too much on his mind right
now to think of marriage; he’s worried about his uncle and he has to get together
with Peter before their important meeting.
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Manolis Aligizakis 