THIS took place, especially when God’s sickness kept me
down where the futile couldn’t pass and the dead carriage
driver, standing on the railings was still holding the horses
faraway in the endless, since there wasn’t ever any return
only plenty of ancient words, repeated in a different place
or suddenly kept silent,
since we were all strangers here, simple tenants and what
occurred will re-occur and our days are the repeated
signal of something we never understood.
Poem from the book IMPULSES
Hearing Aid
Growing forgetful in glory
thoughts you never had in youth
but when the chickadee chirps
you tune in your hearing aid
bask in the shape of your
statue honing fine verse
in your serene walk through
the park confer the shape
of untouched vulva
no one asks you for detail
yet you do this to persuade yourself
you can still
recite deep verse though you’re
as fritzed as the hearing aid you like
to tune in to the chickadee’s chirp
EROTIKOS LOGOS
I
Fateful rose, you looked for ways to wound us
but you bend like the secret to be redeemed
and the command you chose to give us was beautiful
and your smile was like a ready sword.
The accent of your circle brought the world to life
the path of a deep thought emerged from your thorn
our ardor dawned sweet and naked to possess you
the world was as easy as a simple heartbeat.
From the Book THE MEDUSA GLANCE
Regime Change
Target country needs
a new despot
failed regime needs
to be changed
bombs, missiles,
guided death
put to work
defence contractor
in overtime
one can’t stand opposite
the deciding elit
with its rightful right
to punish, set straight,
do justice
old despot needs
to be replaced
announced in the evening news
From the book THE MEDUSA GLANCE
Diptych
A clear cut case, the leader
of the free world said
either with us or against us
underlining the war might
stored in dark warehouses housing
his selected war toys
his opponent, on the far away land, blinked
his eyes before the economic
slavery of multinationals and
devastatedly falling bombs
to smartly flatten desert land
a clear cut case, the leader
of the free world said
either with us or against us
POEM BY MANOLIS ANAGNOSTAKIS
YOUNG MEN FROM SIDON
We shouldn’t complain, really
your company was pleasant and full of vigor:
freshened girls, wholesome boys
full of love for life and for adventures
and your songs were sweet and meaningful
very sentimental, humane
for the children who died over the other continent
for the heroes killed in past years
for revolutionaries with black, green, reddish skin
for the grief of every suffering man
this involvement especially an honour for you
for today’s problems and struggle
you always appear and you fight, therefore
I believe it’s your right to play
in groups of two or three at a time
and to fall in love
to just relax, brothers, after such tiredness
(George, have you noticed we’ve aged prematurely?)
Manolis Aligizakis 