by Andriana Ierodiaconou

The Partridge

I don’t know whether you’ve ever seen a partridge

running before the car

without brains enough to escape into the brambles

finally out of kindness we shoo it to one side

even if it means no roast partridge tonight, but boiled greens.

Fate is in pursuit

and we without brains enough for a getaway in the brambles

and it’s weighing whether to let us off this once

or whether our time has come

even if one morning we gave up a partridge as a gift to nature.

 

The Cypress

I’ve lived in five countries

and I am bound to say

people are not everywhere the same.

They may weep, they may die

but every language has one word which is untranslatable.

Cypress trees are the same

you can always talk to a cypress.

To the cypress tree in my yard I say:

“You are lucky you’ll never live in five countries”

and the cypress agrees.

In my next life

I want to be born a cypress

whatever happens to me, to happen

straight up to the sky from the ground.

 

Translated by the poet.