Hades
Under the watchful eye of Hades
I used my strong hand to spread
the brown to the right
and the bloody red to the left
hills and paths that led
downward to the sea
where sweat and salt mixed.
Then for a moment I stopped
to listen to the owl’s call
requiem for my dead comrades
hour of wisdom incarnated
lines of people I pulled from
the earth’s bottom
chthonian climax
unorthodox couplings
the expert analyzer that I was
and I counted
the fingers and phalli of men
eloquent contours of women
sea caves where future
generations were destined to dwell
labyrinthine quotations
asymmetrical widths
elliptical lengths of shadows
during the saddened August
Manolis 