Orphic Hymn
Beyond the minds of the thoughtless
functionary and orphic hymnist
I bring back the hymn
of an ancient light worship
as my thoughts run to it now
a river stashed away
the people’s buzzing but a surprise
to the rhythm of my guitar
that during the night I start to climb
the difficult-to-reach mountaintop
first, I wish to hail the Apollonian light
while down where people live
sleep and darkness still prevail
For my brother
You are a man. I’ve remained the same
as the years that went by left me
a strange boy who has aged
and I don’t hope for anything more, my brother
my dreams scattered from my hands
like rose petals I’ve given to the wind.
Oh, how I wish you could forget
the concerns of life that consume you
and come over here, pass your arm
around me and, leaning, you’d hear
the passion that has pushed down
the one you once loved so much.
My dear brother, I would tell you in a low tone
how all people have hated me
and how I ploughed along straight
going daily a little further away from them
not knowing which direction I was going
not knowing which places would hold me
and as you are my beloved brother
and when seeing your teary eyes
I would forget all the struggles of life
and gazing far away to the western sky
the little clouds that turned golden
kissing the top of the cypress tenderly
I would seek a simple sun-flooded city
and the big house where we spent our first
years and where we played marbles.
I’d tell you about the joys I still enjoy
about the ones that have vanished
and for the days that will never come back.
Excerpt
And he did. He got up, took her hand and pulling her close, he hugged her. His lips locked with hers. She was happy that her girlfriend was wrong, he didn’t have any strange sexual preferences, she kissed him passionately, and his hands travelled over her body. Hungry hands searched between her legs and touched her anywhere he liked, anywhere she liked him to touch her, too, and their sexual desire was fired to the point of no return. She stood against the wall, her right leg open. He inserted his fingers inside of her, and soon enough, he had unzipped himself and, pulling her undergarment to the side, he pushed his erection as deep as he could, standing there against the wall. A few movements were enough for both to reach the exhilarating apex of an orgasm that completed their short interaction, and, both happy and smiling, they fixed their clothes. They went back to the place they were a few minutes earlier, where the other two came out from the class and joined them.
Some time passed, and Basil came from the pool hall to inform them that he had played an excellent game of billiards and beat Sakis, to the pleasure of the most pool hall regulars. Surely no one paid attention to him. They all had been absorbed in their thoughts. The two girls pulled a little away when Litsa said to Rena,
“You shouldn’t talk badly about him, he’s just great, believe me.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to insult your boyfriend.”
“You know, though, I’m thinking of Basil…truly feel for him, he’s been alone all along…Sometimes I think I should be more caring towards him.”
At that moment, their supervising teacher appeared, and their conversations stopped as they all walked into the classroom for their exam. They sat in the seats they had already selected. Basil sat in the middle row, and the other two couples were in each of the other rows at the far end of the class.
“Why do you sit so far away?” Mr. Andreopoulos, their teacher, asked, though he didn’t care to continue, knowing that an answer at this time wouldn’t make any difference, so he called Litsa, who went over and took the exam papers, five copies, and passed them over…
