3

Croissant of a body,
between a sip of coffee
and a cigarette puff.
All the earlier
we arranged our rendezvous,
from noon and afternoon
to nine in the morning.

We can all be gods
for just one night.

16

Pain starts once we forget
the wound. There’s no outlet
for the bullet. Its opening has
healed and closed.

Pain is locked in.
You cannot spot it
in organs, tissues and cells.

Nothing gives it away.
Dispersed and uncaught,
it stands out like joy. Pain,
my love, grows when
great, joy that enthrals.

Only he who has truly loved
can fall in love again.

33

You have your life ahead of you, you youngsters,
not I. The everything, the never, the nothing
and all forbidden words
at your disposal. I appreciate
that you’ve used them correctly.
As one grows older
so limited is his vocabulary.

(Σωτήρης Παστάκας, Νήσος Χίος/Sotirios Pastakas, The Isle of Chios-bilingual edition-Εκδόσεις Οδός Πανός, 2009. Εξώφυλλο: Στράτος Φουντούλης)