I defined my steps next to the footprints
of philosophers and craftsmen, next
to ancient priests and priestesses and
I, the loner, guarded wholeness during
the moonlit nights and dark days of my people
expecting their reward on a future day
I stood like a guard against mediocrity
against banality, the second-class attitude, and
I defended the right of my people, and
I declared
I have been my people’s landmark
in the immenseness of my life
where borders don’t exist and only
the eternal ancient beauty stands
I, the loner, alone shall recant
ancient oracles, trying to guide and
console my sorrowful kin from
the Eastern evil that came to our lands
which demanded blind obedience and
rewarded the pious with the afterlife
riches, in today’s modern days when
with a click of a mouse, one speaks
to someone on the other side of the galaxy
mediocrity reigned supreme
Manolis Aligizakis 