in the short time of a month
all sort of things have occured
there was rain and cold weather and days of grey
i saw roads of the land and the sky
different people talking almost the same
moments of happiness and worry
good news in bad conditions
dilemmas of different sorts
today for the first time this year
i saw blooming trees




there are some shocking facts
the short time that separates us from the past so dramatically different
it takes the blink of an eye almost
to move through the last century
it takes the life of one man, my grandfather
who was born before Cavafy's death
and lived through the wars
and had me who came a little after the dictatorship
the celebration of the masses
and the end of the generation of the thirties
and i shall live through this complete bankruptcy.

another effort to translate the song i mentioned in my last post
for you
it is a traditional song about immigration. So,


my treasure (Tzivaeri mou)

ah, the foreign land enjoys his presence
my treasure, my flower
quietly quietly quietly and humbly

ah, it was me who sent him there
my treasure, on my will
quietly quietly quietly i step on earth

ah, damn you foreign land
my treasure, you and the good of you
quietly quietly quietly and humbly

ah, for you took my little child
my treasure, and you made him yours
quietly quietly quietly i step on the earth.

Domna Samiou-
listen to her
she will be remembered

a wish for the spring
(almond trees have not yet blossomed in the north
so i chose a picture from the internet, just for an eye-wash ;)

there is another similar question
about tradition and customs cultural habits and
the emergence of truth
were we to evolve ourselves through repetition? - each time
if we pay attention we might find something which needs to be altered
and little by little we change it hopefully for the best
why then are we so moved by innovation or even by mere change?
is it us, our inner curiosity about the unknown, or is it because we have to consume so many new delicate information about the things we could try to use? innovation and tradition- both dimensions of time
so the question is
does the experience of ourselves using all those for-a-short-period things makes us think we last more in life?
our grandparents' things and habits make us short-lasting?
what a picture: compared to those fragile new things and the changing information about them, counting time by their period of use, we are indeed stronger
indeed we are
but then
things given to us and taken for granted by us
which survived through time and became part of us when we ignored them
they are stronger
they will reappear when we'll be gone


and you find yourself in the smile of a grandmother's face and a stone resting on the doorsill

the night the day