Drinking the Corinthian sun
Deciphering the marble ruins
Striding across vineyards and seas
Taking aim with my harpoon
At an elusive votive fish
I find the living land that passion
So joyfully opens
In the leaves that are memorized
By the psalm of the sun
I drink water and cut open fruit
I plunge my hands into the wind’s flora
Citrus trees scent the summer’s day pollen
Green birds flit through my dreams
As I leave, my eyes are filled with a vista
An endless vista where – from the beginning –
The world is made beautiful once more
According to the heart’s capacity
Drinking the Corinthian Sun
by Odysseus Elytis
Translation © R J Dent (2009)
R J Dent 