Collector
Burnt butterfly wings
beside the line
left by a squished firefly.
Tales I forge
pinning broken earrings
on the eyes of plain dolls.
I shall be smoking at night
staring at their remains,
scattered upon the wall.
Muse
He called to me, again and again with his low, almost melodic voice so persistently and tenderly, almost torturously. Until he managed to get me out of my chronic sleep, from what seemed to me like a lifelong lethargy. Deep green thoughtful eyes, black curly hair. Thin, snow-white fingers. He used to slowly wrap a curl around his index finger as he spoke, with his gaze lost somewhere far away. A poet who was looking for a painful inspiration. In such trying times. After all these years. A small miracle of life.
On that night he persuaded me to touch his lips; oh, how many years had it been since I had last felt it! He tasted the little secrets of art and love and I got something that, having decided that no one would ask for, I had fallen into despair. He never asked me for anything again, except that first kiss, which he had heard would give him the talent he was owed by fate.
Only every other day do I change the water of his pond now so he does not lose his color. I also throw a fly his way now and then so that his precious tongue does not fall into disuse.
Hide and seek
While days pass by the edge of the sky
under the ever-turning sun
and the wind howling at the skylight
My throat out of breath
I send messages and I hurry
leaning against the wall before they find me
listening with my palm
every experience I missed
every opportunity I passed over
everything you wished was left unsaid
and, with sweat and fear,
Fingers crossed
Death's dice
Wouldn't weigh too heavily on my hands.
Double play
Feeling the code of your words
what do they mean?
raised marks
dots, dashes and spaces
throbbing veins
and twitching eyebrows
From the pale neck
To the chest that dared come out
The dual body that played
and got lost
Dust that flew
before it found
a shady corner for protection.
Debt
How big
a mistake
can be?
How cheap
an apology?
Must
shall forever be
a coward's
want.
To Horse Around
I accepted the bridle
to enjoy the rider
and gallop with him,
pretending
that he is in charge
So far
so good
But being reined in is as dull
as it is pointless to take over.
(Translation Nikiphoros Kontomichis-Afentoulidis)
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