Memento of Constantinople
on the marble quay of the palace,
they have placed, in an almost straight line,
piles of wood
barges brought from distant
shore forests
and other piles from thin
lissome trunks like a Kore’s body
and other piles
of gigantic, huge
trees
it constantly rains and the persistent rain
drenches the graceless woods
and the marble of the quay gleam
as the water washes them repeatedly
and the sky is heavy and black,
one wonders if anyone knows what time it is,
there is no hope for any of that
(The opposite shore has vanished
as if it never existed)
and the sea is moody and wild
as if the endless raindrops that hit it
have awakened a strong anger inside it
that it can hardly hold back
no one else is in this deserted place
other than I, the same one, and
I stand with my drenched red hair
glued onto my forehead
the travails of love have brought me here
to the tender seashore
and my mind always flies to a beautiful
proud magnolia
that thrives and blooms
in this place
Manolis Aligizakis 