Party
My friends invited me to a party
I won’t turn them down. I’ll go to forget.
I’ll wear my red dress
and I’ll envy my beauty
the corpse I carry inside me
I’ll affectionately take along.
I’ll be joyous and secretive,
I, the messenger of Hades
my moribund friends won’t
get drunk though they’ll drink a lot
I’ll stand next to them, a beautiful
curse, they won’t suspect me
then they’ll ask me to sing a song
perhaps hoping for an ochre joy
though my song will be so real
that suddenly they’ll turn silent.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1926763459

Erotic Fecundity
In the harbours of the world
with each sailing
the eternal man on deck
simultaneously a baby and an old man
doesn’t know which route to choose
defenceless heart in the crypts
of seasons
on the dock, unfamiliar faces pass
on invisible rails
the shadow of the happy child
at the far end of the quay an imaginary figure
who I embraced eons ago
postponed encounter of souls
imprisoned in differing destinies.
Why am I here and not somewhere else?
Have I existed?
Do I exist?
Am I one of my concepts
sprung out of a dream?
Wind the first word God uttered
wind the birth and death
wind the wisdom
the unexpected signal of erotic fecundity
on the first day of creation.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DPCRLJC6

Pilgrimage
I went to my family’s home
a pilgrimage
to the place I once existed
a baby
in the arms of the saintly mother
I found four walls defining
the length and width
of the small space
in the embrace of the infinite
my first cry I discovered
between two rocks to the west
where the wind incised
unerasable marks and
in the vague darkness of the corner
where my crib sat
and I spoke
time is tough
in the embrace of timelessness
I went to my family’s home
a pilgrimage
to the space where I took
my first steps
a baby
the lone window to the north
tightly shut
the lone door leaned to the east
as if wishing to open towards
the path I was meant to follow
and I spoke
Oh god, so simple is the world
so simple is life
Oh god, clearly defined
is my path to greatness

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1771715987

Αικατερίνη Τεμπέλη, Shavi guli