Poems
My poetry is but an attempt to record feelings. All poems are written in one go. I do not tend to their aesthetic appeal, as that requires extra processing which detracts from my truth in the moment.
Old friends (my poem)
At dawn we remember them
sitting in the back seat
riding the motorcycle northward
summer days along the coastline
by the harbour bars and the beaches
behind the rocks overlooking the mainland
in the moments we cherish
and the memories we are grateful for
White owl (my poem)
The white owl appears before you at twilight
Skyward you find meaning in shooting stars
Heed the crickets chirping into the night
and rest as Olympos fades in the distance
Perseids (my poem)
I wrote this on the 13th of August but could not publish it earlier due to lack of electricity at home.
The shower of the Perseids
luminates the midnight sky
Do meteors ever dream
of alighting the night of another?
Moonrise (my poem)
Moonrise of the new beginning
The dog patrols the perimeter
barking at the darkness
Moving shadows along the silver path
Travellers on a journey to nowhere
It is the moments that matter
Heed the voice of the mountain
Play the tune of the wind
and let the soul be anabaptised
Moments (my poem)
In the land of the bee-eaters
the gatemaker's sweat
mixes with the soil
At the edge of Hera's cliff
the golden eagle
circles you thrice
Another day, another labour
Another moment, another wonder
All that is, is all that matters
Rendez-vous (my poem)
I shall meet you there
at the countless greens
under the brown eagle's oak tree
between August's two full moons
Stella maris (my poem)
Many embarked seaward
pursuing you in the dark
Many fought against waves
hoping to witness the world
Many drowned in murky waters
longing for a better tomorrow
Yet it is here I found you
in the ocean no boat can sail
Aphrodite (my poem)
From the white mountains
to the red villages
where Greek Strawberry Trees blossom
and potatoes grow
I greet the eagles
and salute the frogs
while contemplating in awe
your everlasting beauty
Resident grief (my poem)
Grief does not reside here
It starved on nights of few
It succumbed to loneliness
It drowned in cold showers
In its stead are stones, cement,
and the iron will that binds them
Resilience (my poem)
Carob trees amid fields of gold
How many hanged themselves here?
Strong winds blow from the South
Is it the shore fugitives never reached?
The beating Sun deepens the cracks
Some will break, I know, yet I proceed
Vigil (my poem)
Dark circles
under the full moon
Man, dog, and black snake
keeping vigil of another kind
Finality (my poem)
Delirious in fear
You fathom the final tomorrow
Owls (my poem)
On this windy night
I mark my territory
Alone with the owls
Horizons (my poem)
Where is the end, friend?
No rainbow led me beyond the horizon
Horizons; horizons everlasting
Paths converge only to diverge
You experience the blessing and the curse
and accept transfiguration
Cold bones (my poem)
Leaving at dawn
you swear on your cold bones
to make it happen
Desert (my poem)
Desert
Wrong inquiry
Achievements
False needs
Control
Powerful delusion
Lightness
Freedom from justification
Why?
Why me? Why not?
Rainmaker (my poem)
Rest rainmaker
Time washes away
what water cannot
Idol (my poem)
In shattering the mirror
you reduced yourself
to what which you despised
Emancipated you are
when mirrors don't draw comparisons
Acceptance (my poem)
Walking on a path
Encountering fellow travellers
How far we go together is of no import
It suffices that we wandered
There are twists and turns
You go left, another continues straight
"Farewell, beloved"
Maybe there is a terminus
Or maybe---just maybe---there are more paths
Travellers on yet another adventure
Living the moment on an ever-lasting cycle
What is the purpose of all this?
Staring at the sunset
Amazed by the beauty of the cosmic oneness
We entertain thoughts that have no answers
Laugh, cry, curse the gods for your ignorance
You know that beauty is not rationalisable
Reduce the vastness to reason if you seek an empty shell
Why is beauty so readily recognisable yet undefinable?
It makes no sense
Travel my dear in search of nothing
Seek not the simulacrum of certainty
Dream of that one kiss that excites you
Paths converge and diverge
As memories fade and hopes arise
And remember the kind words of the sage:
"Why should it? Why should it make sense to you?"
Here (my poem + audio)
It all happens here
Walk where eagles fly
Cogitate the vastness
Appeal to your divine
Dance and sing along
The beyond eludes us
Raw link: Raw link: https://soundcloud.com/protesilaos/here.
Peak (my poem)
On this frigid peak
I forge my new beginnings
Calm yet resolute
Cloud (my poem)
Where to little cloud?
Which mountain is calling you?
Which storm awaits?
Alien (my poem)
Alien in this shifting landscape
Lover of the sublime that wasn't
Visage (my poem + audio)
Rays of light
Adorn the violet sky
Your visage I discern
A smile amid the clouds
Who are you?
Raw link: https://soundcloud.com/protesilaos/visage.
Nowhere (my poem + audio)
No sky my friend
No sea to sink the sorrows
No land to call your own
Raw link: https://soundcloud.com/protesilaos/nowhere.
Eagle (my poem + audio)
Mountain eagle
Peerless among those clouds
How is loneliness?
I encounter eagles regularly. This morning I saw another. I was inspired to compose this and record it on the spot.
Raw link: https://soundcloud.com/protesilaos/eagle.
Vagrant (my poem + audio)
Tell me vagrant
Did you find the magic grove?
Do sorcerers cry?
Another moment of inspiration during my walks. It was windy: you can hear it in the audio.
Raw link: https://soundcloud.com/protesilaos/vagrant.
Enchantress (my poem + audio)
Enchant me Siren
Guide my ship to your rocks
N'kiss me as I drown
I thought about this while walking in the mountains (yeah, I don’t have a ship). I did the audio on the spot.
Sellsword (my poem + audio)
Dejected sellsword
dying in some foreign land
for a cause I hated
I thought about this while walking in the mountains. I did the audio on the spot.
Raw link: https://soundcloud.com/protesilaos/sellsword.
Travellers (my poem)
Begone traveller
We wandered blithely
Now I must awaken
Hopes (my poem)
Process those hopes
To extract a drop of strength
Time favours no one
Seafarer (my poem)
Avoid the sea
It takes you away
And so I did
Yet far away I am
You don’t get to choose everything.
Shadows (my poem)
Shadowy figure
The order in this darkness
A blossoming face
The elusive one
Obscure yet mysterious
A shadow in space
This light shall guide me
And I will thus approach you
As you fade away
To worry and fear
That I may forever lose
What I never had
Defy the comfort zones while you can.
Large dogs (my poem)
Beware of large dogs, for they are strong
Beware of first looks, for they are wrong
Prejudice in the form of praise continues to be prejudice.
Constraints (my poem)
Distance
mind renders bridgeable
Proximity
life makes improbable
Hope for the best.
Trains (my poem)
Trains come
Trains go
Rides taken
Walk some
Walk slow
Years forsaken
Does the walker miss out? Can the walker not miss out qua walker?
Tokens (my poem)
Let me, stranger,
capture your attention
Help me, smartphone,
depict my personality
Trying to show what is not apparent…
Freedom (my poem)
Live silently
Nobody cares
Reveal yourself
None watches
Speak freely
No-one listens
The irony and futility of being ignored…
Colours (my poem)
Blue or green
memento of a Summer gone
Black or grey
reminder of sweet delusion
Hopelessness of contrasting times…
Olives (my poem)
Today's olives
taste unlike yesterday's
Years thus pass
Dear caring mind
you varied the routine
But I noticed
Stale routines are normalised…