Nikiforos Vrettakos
Τhe Field of Words

(translated by Marjorie Chambers)

Like the bee round a wild
flower, so am Ι. Ι prowl
continuously around the word.

Ι thank the long lines
of ancestors who moulded the voice.
Cutting it into links, they made
meanings. Like smelters they
forged it into gold and it became
Homer, Aeschylus, the Gospels
and other jewels.

With the thread
of words, this gold
from gold, which comes from the depths
of my heart, Ι am linked, Ι take part in
the world.
Consider:
Ι said and wrote, "Ι love."

Νικηφόρος Βρεττάκος
«Ο Αγρός των λέξεων»

Όπως η μέλισσα γύρω από ένα άγριο
λουλούδι, όμοια κ’ εγώ. Τριγυρίζω
διαρκώς γύρω απ’ τη λέξη.

Ευχαριστώ τις μακριές σειρές
των προγόνων, που δούλεψαν τη φωνή,
την τεμαχίσαν σε κρίκους, την κάμαν
νοήματα, τη σφυρηλάτησαν όπως
το χρυσάφι οι μεταλλουργοί κ’ έγινε
Όμηροι, Αισχύλοι, Ευαγγέλια
κι άλλα κοσμήματα.

Με το νήμα
των λέξεων, αυτόν το χρυσό
του χρυσού, που βγαίνει απ’ τα βάθη
της καρδιάς μου, συνδέομαι συμμετέχω
στον κόσμο.
Σκεφτείτε:
Είπα και έγραψα «Αγαπώ»

 Α verse of Odysseus Elytis as a piece of jewelry adorned on them, is the link between these six women who were imprinted on the lens of a cute light blue Polaroid camera, a gift from my beloved cousin for a past birthday. Vassiliki, a mother of three children, who works in a bank. Carmen, a mental health counsellor, who works a few hours a day in a grocery store and even though we have never met anywhere else, she has made me feel very close to her. Yanina and Aggeliki, both beautiful and lovable, tireless soldiers in the war zone of a pharmacy. Sweet Evangelia, who works in the male–world of a butcher shop. Then Mary, a vet and holistic therapist, always ready to offer with all her heart to people and animals. All, working women who during the enforced Lockdown on account of the Pandemic, continued and still continue, until this day, to work on a daily basis, without interruption.

As the days of social distancing were passing, which the State had enacted as a measure of protection against Covid-19, despite its practical meaning, it became ever more clear to me in an emotional way, that they are all precious links in the chain which join each of us to the essence of sociability, our psychological stability and communication with the outside world. For example, for those who live on their own, these women perhaps are the only way out, the only opportunity they have during the day to converse with someone other than themselves. To exchange a few light words and on other occasion to share their thoughts and worries about all the unprecedented happenings going on around the planet at this period of time. From their side, the women in our story, it is certain that in this cruel everyday life they need mental nourishment so as to respond with consistency to the responsibilities they have taken on.

If we were to place Poetry in our lives…
If Poetry were present in these graceless times…

Just a small dose, just a verse. Like a ray of light which begins to illuminate somewhere in the deep. Tiny, faint, but hides within the power to make our lives more beautiful and enlightened, even just for a moment. Six women. A realistic but tender souvenir in a truly awkward reality.

“Always we the light and shadow”.

 Credits: Manto Vassili, Thodoris Chaniotis, Sofia Zarari, Iris P.