I SAW
I saw a far-off country in my peaceful dream,
a land whose beauty no soul can describe,
that seized my mind and made me leave my meager village
and promised myself I there alone would settle.
A foolish youth I started, spellbound by the beauty
of my dream, and passed through lands hemmed in by water
and others clothed with shining plains and hillsides,
but still the land I longed for receded, always further off.
The passersby I met urged me to settle.
This is a beauteous land, stay here, they said.
Yes, I replied, your land is good, my friends,
but not the one I dream of, which is far away.
Leave me to travel slowly,
alone to pass the plains and mountains.
Perhaps one day I’ll reach it but even if I don’t,
don’t ever ask me, brothers, anywhere to settle.
Manolis 