Review
Today I meet
the lone wild rose
rusted by salinity of time
on the side of my path
dehydrated crab shells
malodorous that
not long ago thrived with life
hungry seagulls
foresee the invincible end
condors of the seashore
encircle the heart’s open wound
rotting on earth
and in the air
condor sniffs my old body
only the symbols retain their shine
and lead my tired steps
straight to the cemetery
where fame overlooks and myths reign
one day my life will be explained
where my arthritic joins
hardly endure the passing
of the last moments
there where years later
with a full wallet I return
to order my golden gravestone
that the simpleminded will say
the bitter truth: he too exiled
himself, he too was ours
and they’ll blaspheme an old man
for the mistake he made
in his unfledged youth.
Manolis 