Lesson
The sound of a shell in the mouth
of the beautiful woman prepares us
for the ultimate lesson and teaches us
how to die with dignity when
her naked body remains unnoticed
though it stands erect, provocative,
tempestuous before our eyes so
we can learn how to depart with
our heads up during that first snowfall
covering our footsteps at dawn,
in the secluded room, and the lone chirp
of a hungry bird tells us one
day we won’t ever be hungry
memory runs to the light sleep
under the grapevine, middle of July
when cicadas continued
their perpetual revolution of
species unaccustomed to obeying
rules or laws when we sleep in peace
dreaming of Helena’s naked body
under the light bed sheet during
that first autumnal rain and the fresh
smell of earth, soil desperately
seeking understanding when we must
learn how to die with dignity and
this, our ultimate lesson in humanness
Manolis Aligizakis 