THE KNIGHT AND DEATH (1513)
by
Nikos Gatsos
Just
so, I see you motionless
travelling
down the ages with the horse of Akritas
and the
sword of Ai-Georgi
I
would place beside you
with
the dark shapes that stand eternally beside you
until
the place where you are extinguished eternally with them
until
you become a fire in the great Chance where you were born
I
would place beside you
an
orange from the snow-covered fields of the moon
I
would unfold for you the veil of an evening
with
red Antares singing the young men
with
the River of Sky overflowing into August
to
weep with the North Star and freeze
I
would place beside you meadows
waters
that never watered the lilies of Germany
and
I would ornament this iron you wear
with
a sprig of basil and a handful of mint
with
the arms of Plapoutas and the sword of Nikitaras
And
then I who saw your descendants like birds
split
open on a spring day the sky of my country
saw
the cypress trees of the Morea stop breathing
there
on the fields of Nauplion
before
the waiting embrace of the wounded sea
where
the eons wrestled with the crosses of gallantry
I
would place beside you
the
bitter eyes of a youth
and
the closed eyelids
in
the mud and blood of Holland.
This
dark land
will
someday become green again
The
iron hand of Götz will overturn the caissons
and
mound them with sheaves of barley and rye
And
in the dark oaks with the dead loves
there
where time turned a virgin leaf to stone
on
the breasts where a tear-stained rose trembled
a
star will shine silent as a spring daisy
But
you will remain motionless
with
the horse of Akritas and the lance of Ai-Georgi you will travel
through the
years
a
restless hunter from the race of heroes
with
those dark shapes that stand eternally beside you
until
a day when you will vanish eternally with them
until
you become again a fire in the great Chance where you were born
until
in the caves of the river
the
heavy hammers of patience resound again
not
for ornaments and swords
but
for pruning hooks and plows.
Trans, DW.
Beautiful.
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