wherever I travel

the barcaroles sickened me

what do they want, all those who think

that they are in Athens or Piraeus?

someone comes from Salamis and asks someone else

whether he comes from Omania Square

no, replies the other, fortunately from Syntagma

I met Yianni and he treated me to ice cream

and all this time Greece is travelling

and we know nothig, we do not know that we are

all sailors deprived of ships

we do not know how terribly lonely the harbour grows

when all the ships have left

we laugh at those who know

strange people who say that they are in Attica when

they are really nowhere

buy sugared almonds for the marriage

use hair tonics and have their photographs taken;

today I saw a man sitting against a background 

of doves and flowers

he allowed the hands of the old photographer to smoothe away

all the wrinkles

marked on his face by all the birds of the sky

and all this time Greece travels onward

when we see the Aegean flowering with corpses

it will be those who tried to join the big ship

by swimming after it

those who got tired of waiting for the ships that cannot move:

the ELSI, the SAMOTHPAK