Excerpt
He walked to the basement where he found Dylan still sitting on
his cot, cigarette in hand, the smell of smoke all over the stagnant
air of the room which Anton smelled and coughed. The old man
tried to stand up but he found his legs were weak and trembling.
He sat again on the cot.
“Good morning Dylan,” Anton greeted him “Are you not
okay? Did you sleep well?”
The old man looked at him with obvious tenderness which
was reflected in his voice, “I’m not that frisky today, and yes I
slept here, didn’t feel like walking back home.”
“I could have driven you home,” Anton pointed.
“No worries; I stay here most of the times especially in
the winter months when darkness comes early I just don’t bother
walking home.”
“I see; it’s all good then, but let me start the machines with
yesterday’s leftover clothes…”
“Good, very good,” Dylan said and didn’t make any effort
to get up from his cot.
Anton took care of the first business and when all the
leftover clothes were in the machines which had started their
humming noise, he remarked, “Do we have to go and collect
today’s clothes?”
“Yes, we shall do this in a while, after the first recess when
the kids get to the class. The maids will have gathered them by
then.”
Time passed. The children were guided to the eating
area where they had their porridge then they were led to their
classes. Anton and Dylan went back to the laundry where they
worked the machines; they also chit chatted until the first
recess was called. The kids walked out of the mausoleum to
the schoolyard. The leaves of the huge oaks and wild chestnut
Excerpt
A beam of moonlight reached through the open drapes at the window, giving a gentle glow to the room. Tyne felt no closer to sleep than she had when they had come to bed two hours earlier.
“Can’t sleep, hon?” Morley put his arm over her and brushed her tousled hair with his lips.
“No, and I suspect you can’t, either.” Tyne laid her cheek against his stubbled one. “Morley, what’s going to happen to them?”
He sighed deeply. “I don’t know, hon. I wish I did.”
“Isn’t there anything we can do?” She knew that, if anyone could give her an answer, her husband could.
Morley stirred and propped himself on one elbow to look down at her. In the faint light, she could see his eyes, now wide open. “Are you thinking we should try to keep them here?”
She took a deep breath. “It has crossed my mind. But even if we get Corky’s permission, it would be a big step, wouldn’t it?”
Morley lay down again, and for several moments looked up at the shadowed ceiling without speaking. Finally, he whispered, “A huge step, Tyne. It would be a huge step.”
Suddenly, she giggled. “I once told you I wanted to live on a farm with the man I love, and raise vegetables and lots of children. This would be a good start.”
“But not quite as soon as you thought.” There was laughter in Morley’s voice now. But after a minute, he said seriously, “Anyway, it all depends on Corky, doesn’t it?”
And partly on Ruby, Tyne thought. She had not told Morley what Ruby had said in Matron’s office, and she had no intention of telling him. But she knew in her heart that, if they applied for custody of the children, the biggest opposition would not come from their father, but from their Aunt Ruby. Because Ruby could not abide ‘Bible thumpers’.
Slavery
Trendily dressed heard of animals
the foreigners came with bells
hanging from their necks
as if they knew the meaning of nature
and with an undebatable posture
they demanded servitude and
replacing our books with guides
and instructions for a multitude of gadgets
they convinced my kin to purchase.
The red carpet was laid for
their wooden shoes
servility was demanded
direct payment is expected.
The foreigners drank my wine
from the ancestral lekythos
as if it was within their rights
though the moon never stayed by their side
and the sun didn’t obey their commands
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKHW4B4S
Excerpt
In fact, Joel remembered his mother had told him the story in
one of her few but precious letters he received shortly before she
passed away. From time to time, Joel’s dad would have to find
temporary work off of the ranch to make a go of things. It was
always tough to squeeze a living out of the Circle H and the family
had to continually live hand-to-mouth from the meager checks his
dad would mail them. One time, as the story goes, his dad had
been owed some money for work he did on an oil drilling crew
down in the panhandle—the wells came up dry and so did the paychecks.
Joel could remember his mother’s letter saying that after
being away for a month or so, his dad showed up late one day and
left the next. Apparently, he had come home for his rifle. It was a
long drive for weaponry, but I guess if you are going to take the law
into your own hands you may as well use your own weapon. His
mother had said that it was nearly two weeks before his dad
returned, and this time he had two fillies with him—one was a
flashy little palomino and the other was a petite bay.
That must be her, Joel thought. The flashy little palomino
grew up to become the old blonde mare.
The next morning Joel and Harry were ready to roll. And that
was exactly what they were doing; rolling down the highway leading
into the thriving mini-metropolis of Great Falls.
It was still early when they arrived at the livestock yards. The
sale wasn’t scheduled to begin until noon. Given that it was so
early in the morning, Joel pulled the old half-ton over to the side
of the parking lot at the stockyard and backed the trailer next to
the corrals. A quick reconnoiter confirmed that there was no one
around so Joel and Harry proceeded to catch a few z’s as they
waited for the office to open.
“What do you mean?” Joel yelled. He had been woken from his
sleep as the first trucks started to pull into the parking lot, and
after a few stretches,
Excerpt
“Okay.” He glanced back at his cooling sauce. “Are you fine with
penne, or would you prefer spaghetti?”
“Penne, please.”
“Penne it is.” Eteo smiled at his son, who was already heading
upstairs again. “Dinner at seven, okay?”
“Yes, Dad,” Alex called from the floor above.
Eteo went back to his chair. He absentmindedly scanned the
space around him, registering the familiar, steady sounds of the
house. Normally they were like the heartbeats of a healthy person,
regular, unhurried, relaxed, almost unnoticeable, but now, with Eteo’s
attention focused on them, they began to sound more like loudspeakers
in a plaza. The map of the earth on the far wall, made of sheets of
copper, was still as shiny as it had been earlier today and the fireplace
sat ready to be lit whenever he wanted that cozy ambience. He
thought about what he needed to do to organize those he wanted to
get involved in Herb’s deal. It looked like a winner, and Eteo knew
that when you have a winner you take care of clients who haven’t
done so well lately. Spiro and Michael, and Angelo too. They had lost
a bit of money on Eteo’s last recommendation, so he owed them a
piece of the action on this one. He also had to work in some of his
personal accounts. Yanni would buy anything Eteo recommended,
as would Nick the hairdresser and Kenny Wong and his friends. The
market, Eteo had learned, was a beast that no one knew how to tame.
Investing in penny stocks wasn’t much different than betting on
horses, except that at least you could look at the horses and, if you
knew horses, separate the strong ones from the weak. Penny stocks
all looked alike, yet each ran on its own terms and no two ever got
exactly the same results. All the more reason why when you get a
loser for a client you better find a winner soon. Yes, he had to include
Spiro and Michael and Angelo in this one.
Logan arrived home while Eteo was still on the phone organizing
his first three clients and explaining to them what he had in mind for
the next few days. Logan, who stood almost six feet, smiled down at
him. He knew who his father was talking to and exactly what he was
doing. Apart from his height, Logan looked a lot like his father.
Sinbad the Sailor
My soul is often
a side street in Mykonos
in the twilight
and women start
putting down on the street,
quite erotically and
in triangular, monotonous shapes
blue glasses
blue plates
blue carafes
blue lust
violins
flowers
pebbles
all in blue colour
away from the sun
on the soil
in the street
where the sun passed
besides
it won’t pass again
then exactly then
is the time
when I
pass my hand
softly
over my cranium
and I press it
deep
Ashes
When people told you to be strong
You knew some things had to collapse
After things turned worse than wrong
Burned down into bare ashes
Before the ashes, souls ascended
There was just dust after them
But ashes started fluorescing
When souls have arrived in heaven
Tragic as things turned out to be
As its nature, time has passed
From the ashes, their wings spreading,
Arose two beautiful phoenixes
Leaving birdwatchers astounded,
Shortly after being reborn
The creatures would not remain grounded
They lifted off, and they have flown
Two birds of fire now light the world,
The sky is theirs, but don’t forget
Their miraculous rebirth
Was from that fluorescent ash
Excerpt
He gets the Admiral a beer and, for Ibrahim, a glass of water as he requested.
Emily is obviously surprised with the arrival of Hakim’s uncle, as she had
thought only Bevan was coming. Bevan’s was the first invitation she sent out.
“I decided to surprise you with an extra guest. This is a very good friend of
mine from the old days. I met Ibrahim in Baghdad many years ago,” Bevan says
to Emily.
Hakim takes his uncle aside because he needs to be with him for a few
minutes alone. Jennifer catches them as they walk away.
“Hi honey, are you going to introduce me to your uncle?” she asks.
Hakim smiles and introduces them. His uncle takes Jennifer’s hand and, the
same as with her mother, kisses it politely.
“I’m quite happy to meet you, Jennifer. I see my nephew has made a very
good choice.”
“I’m very happy to meet you, too, sir,” she replies. Her cheeks blush.
The three stroll around the yard for a few minutes. Hakim is eager to
know more about his uncle’s health, but he knows it will be hard to find out
surrounded by people at a party, that will carry on for the next few hours. He
goes along with the old man who wants to sit down for a while. Jennifer
brings a chair for him from inside the house and places it in the shade of the
big maple.
Ibrahim smiles at her and Hakim, and says, “Young lady, you are an angel,
thank you kindly.”
She smiles back at him and takes Hakim’s hand. He doesn’t object and all
three sit by the big maple tree talking about the non-serious things that keep
this world going around without getting bored. The ever-watchful eyes of the
maple keep them company, and before the feelings of revenge that enter and
exit Hakim’s mind became a thorn on the stem of a beautiful rose, the
watchful eyes of the maple turn and the tender sight of Ibrahim softens his
thoughts. The pleasant, warm afternoon, and a light breeze coming from the
Southeastern horizon, along with the flowers’ scent from the beds of the
garden complements the area around the guests with the fragrance of lilac and
honeysuckle.
Ibrahim turns to Hakim.
“How is your work going, my son? Are you happy here? Would you like to try
something different? There are ways, you know.”
For the second time, he’s caught unprepared for this questioning, as if his
uncle knows things that are happening or are about to happen, of which Hakim is
not yet aware.
“Why are you asking me this, my uncle?”
Manolis Aligizakis 