GREEK POEM: Κρίση Παρακμής (=Decay Crisis)

[Zakynthos]

Λόγια και στιγμές (Words and moments)
Δεν ξέρω αν θ' αντέξω (I don't know if I can take it)
Πες μου ό,τι θες (Say what you want)
Τα μάτια δε θα βρέξω (Nothing will make my eyes wet)

Σπάζει η ζυγαριά (The scale, is broken)
Του πόνου της καρδιάς (Of the pain of the heart)
Χάνω την αφή (I'm losing my sense of touch)
Στραγγίσθη η υπομονή (My patience is drained)

Βγάλε το χιτώνα (Take off the cloak)
Της υποκρισίας (Of hypocrisy)
Ήρθε ο χειμώνας (Winter is here)
Κι όλα έχουν ουσία (And everything is meaningful)

Πάλλευκα τα δέντρα (Snow-white trees)
Πάλλευκο το φως (Snow-white light)
Έκλεισαν τα κέντρα (Centres are closed)
Δε θα σε πάλιν δω (I will not see you again)

Και αν αναρωτιέσαι (And if you are wondering)
Ποιος δίκαιο και ποιος άδικο (Who is right and who is wrong)
Τα λάθη σου όλα λίστα (I made a list of all your mistakes)
Το δίκιό σου κάλπικο (Your right is fake)

Μα πια δεν έχει νόημα (But now it's meaningless)
Να φθείρουμε ψυχές (To corrupt souls)
Οι ψυχοφθόρες σκέψεις (The wicked thoughts)
Ανήκουνε στο χτες (Belong to yesterday)

Τα παρελθόντα καίνε (The past is so hot it burns)
Τα μέλλοντα τα κλαίνε (The future seems unsure and they are crying for it)
Κόλαση ή ουτοπία; (Hell or utopia?)
Παρούσα αμφισημία Current ambiguity)

[Amethystos]

It would had been great if you suggested, a free-style translation to english of this one.
(Remember that ATL members who care about you may be interested in knowing your effort)
It would also had been good to insert somme commas, wouldn't it?

And now some Greek ....

Μια χαρά οι στροφές 1-5-6-7.
Συνέχισε, μια και είσαι πρωτοπόρος εδώ μέσα!

[Zakynthos]

Σ' ευχαριστώ πολύ για το σχόλιο!

[Frankie Jasmine]

Dear Zakynthos,

The title and poem make me think this poem is not about a relationship, but something much larger--like the love of a land/country.
Assuming this meaning is accurate (of course, I could be wrong), it makes a strong poem. Of course, correct me if I am wrong. But often poetry speaks different ways to different people, a part of the art of poetry (and other arts also, I often say this).

I so much enjoy poetry put into English from another language. It has a totally different "feel" to me than English writers. Expressions are used that are not normally used in English and--when done well (I will give an example), have a more beautiful impact. "Nothing will make my eyes wet." This is a phrase which, said in plain English could be trite: "Nothing can make me cry." How much more descriptive and the picture it brings to mind with the words you use.

This is one thing that I hope ATL's writers from original-non-English languages will keep intact . . . expressions from their own language which sound fantastic in English, so much better than everyday English! Maintaining these expressions also (as long as they make sense in English, and yours does) broadens the sights of English speakers; can open our eyes to other ways of saying things, thinking of things; and helps us to get a sense of expressions from other countries, even though (thankfully) translated into English. Without the translation, I could not know your poem at all.

[Zakynthos]

Sometimes, some expressions are used both in English and Greek, fortunately. If I don't search it on Google, I don't know whether it makes sense or not. Another problem is the word order. I noticed that in the English language, there is not much freedom on where to put a word in a sentence.
You were so right, saying that the poem is about something larger, and close to what I had on my mind. Actually, I'm tired of people, those who don't appreciate life, those who don't know how to live, those who don't believe in love. Here, it includes personal elements of my life. The core of the poem, though, is uncertainty about the future along with strong optimism for a better tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your opinion.

[mexico62]

Hi Zakynthos and thank you for sharing your beautiful poem with all of us, even though in english and spanish we have a lot of words with greek roots, most of them in science of philosophy, as Frankie Jasmine said, if you haven´t translated, we would be incapables to understand your poem.
The beauty of poetry is that not all the time we have the every day phrases, nor the complete meaning of the writer´s thoughts, that´s the beautiful part of poetry, we can adapt it to our own experience. Like a painting, we must make our interpretation, like this that for me seems to go from the particular, and then develops to the general, thanks again, excellent work.

[Doug Denslowe]

Σ' ευχαριστώ πολύ για το σχόλιο!

It's all Greek to me!

[Zakynthos]

It's all Greek to me!

It means: "Thanks a lot for the comment!"