The Antidote to Agony: Focus on the Poetry of Greece and Cyprus
December 2, 2025
Η πόλη και τα αβέβαια τείχη της
May 15, 2026
Circumference
a giant in the weave of a sunbeam
T hree poems by Vassilis Kimoulis, translated from the Greek by Peter Constantine
Κατρακυλώ στο δροσερό σεντόνι
άλλοτε γίγαντας στην πλοκή της αχτίδας
κι άλλοτε ο χρόνος ξέφρενα οργώνει
πόρτες ολάνοιχτες φοβερές
μια βοή μια μυρωδιά αιώνων
μικροί χωμάτινοι αιώνες
I tumble onto the cool sheets
at times a giant in the weave of a sunbeam
and time at times madly plows
doors wide open terrifying
a roar an aroma of centuries
tiny earthen centuries
Όταν ρίχνει ψιλόβροχο
τα νύχια της κιτρινίζουν σαν γεράνια
τα αυτιά της αγριεύουν κι ακούν εσωτερικά
ήχοι στριφτοί σαν κοχύλια στριγκοί σαν γλαρόνια
τυλίγονται στους γλουτούς της
όλα μοιάζουν πιθανά τότε
ίσως να είναι η τελευταία μου μέρα σκέφτεται
είτε να γίνω μια κι έξω αλεπού
When it drizzles
her nails turn yellow like geraniums
her ears grow feral and listen within
twisting sounds like seashells
sharp like seagulls
winding around her buttocks
everything seems possible then
maybe this is my last day she thinks
or maybe I will become a fox once and for all
Έτσι τελειώνουν όλα
δεν υπάρχει θρίαμβος
δεν υπάρχει κανείς
μια μυρωδιά μόνο
η πιο παλιά
κοφτερή σαν χαρτί
λευκή και σιωπηλή
σαν τον κόσμο
προτού γαβγίσει το σκυλί
όταν τα βότσαλα ήταν ανέπαφα
και η θάλασσα καινούργια
This is how everything ends
there is no triumph
there is no one
only a scent
the oldest one
sharp as paper
white and silent
like the world
before the dog barked
when the pebbles were untouched
and the sea was brand new
______________
Vassilis Kimoulis is a Greek poet, prose writer, translator, and literary editor. He has published across genres: a poetry collection, a book of short prose, and a hybrid work combining poetry, fiction, and essay. He has translated works by Haruki Murakami and other contemporary authors into Greek. Active in publishing since 1990, he is also part of the project team that organizes the annual Chania Book Festival.
Peter Constantine’s translations include works by Rousseau, Machiavelli, Gogol, and Tolstoy, for Random House and Modern Library. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and was awarded the PEN Translation Prize for Six Early Stories by Thomas Mann, and the National Translation Award for The Undiscovered Chekhov. He is a professor of translation studies at the University of Connecticut and publisher of World Poetry Books.
