Larger Font   Reset Font Size   Smaller Font  

Farewell My Loyal Friend

Natassa Bertzeletos

Farewell my Loyal Friend

  A short collection of poems.

  Natassa Bertzeletos

  Copyright 2015 Natassa Bertzeletos. All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 9781311480583

  Farewell my Loyal Friend

  A small patterned box

  is gently put in the

  palm of a hand.

  As it opens

  a sweet breeze of wind

  forms a staff of lines

  a treble clef and notes

  of you and me.

  A hymning

  harmonious sound

  only reaches the ear

  of integrity.

  Rustling trees

  blossoming flowers

  birds of white

  patches of colours.

  A train of carriages

  a rosary

  a chain of memories.

  This country of white and blue

  of salty seas that

  tear the eyes.

  This country of precious stones

  is once again at a loss.

  Dedicated to Mary

  The Fairy

  I stand behind the thick door

  a barrier of joy and sorrow

  not knowing what awaits.

  The girl with the golden hair

  and emerald eyes greets me.

  She looks like a fairy.

  The smell of burning

  incense is strong

  in my nose.

  A burning oil lamp

  magnifies a photo of

  an elderly woman

  like it protests

  ‘I’m here

  I’m present’.

  The fairy reads to me

  in a shaky and cracked

  voice

  a look of despair.

  Then she says

  ‘we lost her’.

  I descend in an

  elevator.

  When we bid

  each other

  farewell

  the door handle

  which remained

  in my hand

  is absent

  the echo of

  laughter.

  Dedicated to my 19 year old student who lost her mother, 24/09/11

 

  The Piano

  It is brown with black and white keys

  that have gathered dust over the years.

  It stands there in silence and pride

  not even a word or whisper of complaint

  does it utter after all these years.

  It waits in patience and pride

  to show off its glitter and gleam

  but time passes and silence is all it hears.

  People pass by and act as though it’s not there

  occasionally putting their hands

  on its dirty and dusty keys.

  Ringing with a sound of distortion

  it shivers and fears.

  To rot and wear away

  in its existence after all these years.

  Scrub that Muck Away

  Cars in a line

  waiting to be washed

  looking like army ants

  about to attack

  Cars black with muck

  how appalling!

  ‘Hey you!

  Scrub that muck away’

  The whirling of machines

  the splashing and the spattering

  of puffy soap and water

  as the cars go through

  We wait outside

  like a heap of debris

  with red shot eyes

  and swollen blistered hands

  With no life-insurance

  we pray every day

  that we don’t drop dead

  like that man who fell

  from three floors high

  A man in a suit

  standing behind

  a sheet of glass

  separating him from us

  inspects every move

  Oh my!

  He chastises us

  he makes irreverent remarks

  we just want our bread

  all we want is to be fed

  We rub and scrub

  harder and harder

  faster and faster.

  Can’t you hear the sound?

  Our inarticulate voice.

  Our protest!

  We’re trying our best

  to scrub that muck away

  but the harder we scrub

  the more it remains the same

  Your opinion is preserved…

  That you are a knight

  and we are your slaves

  you have a silky suit

  and we have saggy rags

  you live in a grand house

  and we live in

  a crammed crow cage

  but…

  we’ll soon unite

  in the soil

  then the land of Hades

  camouflaging us

  but making you

  conspicuous

  Don’t look back

  for we’ll be there

  to haunt you.

  I wonder who

  will be laughing

  next…

  Mount Imitos

  Imitos was once known

  for her beauty and green

  but now fires have triumphed

  and she has lost her name

  Fires light and bright

  like an angel from

  down below

  speeding with vicious anger

  turning flora and fauna

  into soot statues that leave

  a path of darkness

  a scent of death

  from hell

  When night falls

  Imitos is

  coloured like a

  Christmas light

  but when day time arrives

  she is dressed

  in black

  Oh nature!

  Where have you gone?

  The human race robbed you

  of all your glories

  taking your last breath away

  But what they don’t know

  is that you are so

  humble and divine

  and that one day they’ll

  pay for this terrible crime

  Ashes to Ashes

  Dust to Dust

  for without you our race

  will crumble in time.

  The Eight Legged Goliath

  The earth shakes and breaks

  thump thumpity thump

  and turns into shambles

  at the tremor sense of

  the eight legged goliath

  I’m trapped in her cobweb

  a victim of her syndrome

  no gesture or conjecture

  She uses her spinneret1

  to crawl up her sticky web

  her evil simple eye2 and

  hirsute chelicerae3 are

  fiddling with my head

  A breath that brings on

  the plague

  an egg sack like a

  dropped bomb

  My hands are jelly as

  I try to strike a note

  smote by her poison fangs4

  I take a long journey

  I go into

  convulsions and

  am paralyzed

  and petrified

  by her words.

  1. Spinneret: opening through which the spider emits its silk.

  2. Simple eye: non-complex sight organ of a spider.

  3. Chelicerae: pair of venomous hooks on the spider’s head.

  4. Poison fangs: hard structure with which the spiders injects venom

  The Dove

  An angelic dove

&nbs
p; appears from high skies

  embracing me and

  laying me under

  her cushioned wing

  An omen of the Gods

  she flaps her mighty wings

  entering another

  dimension of

  tranquility

  and paradise

  a cyclopean

  temple.

  The Dollar Bill

  A God atop cotton wool clouds, digs a hole in them and takes a peek at His creation. He sees a man holding onto a dollar bill tightly. Unhappy with what He sees, He decides to put the man to a test.

  He sends a flock of birds so radiant in light that the man is dazzled. He looks at them with a twinkle in his eye. Never before has he seen such beauty. From a matchstick posture, he loosens into plasticine. The birds leave a trail of Y’s behind them and a feather or two which slowly come off the ground, caressing the man’s face. Baffled by the birds’ actions, the man decides to follow the trail into a forest.

  He enters a lush forest with no sight of the sky and feels secure beneath the canopy. Then he sees a large grey rock which he sits on and feels as though he’s on a whale’s back, taking him for an adventurous ride. The lake is filled with silver rays as if a God is reflecting a mirror from the sky - if only he knew. He cups his hands and drinking water, feels the sensation of a waterfall in his mouth. He ducks his head into the lake and feels a coolness as if he is recovering from a burning fire.

  He lies down and closes his eyes and listens to a choir of humming bees, hushing trees and birds singing merry songs. His body begins to feel lighter and lighter as he drifts away into sleep. His hand, which is holding onto the dollar bill, begins to twitch. The dollar bill flutters away, eventually turning into a dot and then disappears out of existence. Finally, he is at peace.

  Speedomalachos

  Have you ever heard of the term

  Speedomalachos*?

  Well I had certainly not

  Until one day while I was driving

  in my box

  I turned

  and to my bewilderment

  I saw one

  and oh my, what an appalling sight!

  A snorting of the nose

  A growl that zaps

  through the air

  and says,

  'Get off, this is my road!'

  Be aware!

  A swinging of the head

  A crack of a bone

  A banging of a bell

  And I ended up with

  a ring embracing

  my neck!

  Dedicated to the person who gave me chronic neck pain.

  *Speedomalachos: A made up word that means stupid and careless

  The Dancer

  She wore a dress

  of silver and white

  that glittered and gleamed

  in the light

  She fastened the buckle to her back

  Making sure that it would not snap

  She got on the stage

  and shone bright.

  Everyone was delighted

  to see such a sight

  she did the mambo jump

  and then did the conga

  When all of a sudden

  she heard a snap

  and then said,

  'Oh my buckle has snapped, oh crap!'

  Everyone stared and gave a cack

  at the flash they had just seen

  She dashed in a flash

  until out of sight

  for what they saw

  will remain in their minds

  forever more....

  Oh Father…

  Weren’t you the one who should have

  taught us to stand up tall?

  Head up high?

  To walk with a cat’s pride?

  Weren’t you the one who should have

  stood beside us like a rock?

  To take away our tears and fears?

  Whispering in our ear,

  ‘you are safe forever more’?

  Oh father…

  can’t you see the sorrow in our eyes?

  One day of life equals one day of death

  we search for a clone father of professional help

  who gives us pills of miracle, might and life.

  What are you?

  Are you the male image of Midea?

  Giving us clothes of poisoned wealth

  and sharp knives slashing us to death.

  What are you?

  Are you the witchcraft of Shakespeare’s Macbeth?

  The bloody daggers and chopped off heads.

  Hey!

  Father

  Tell me…

  What really are you?

  The Rock

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  The one way up high

  in the puffy clouds

  that look like fairy floss

  hiding us from

  every existing soul.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  The one that is dark grey

  with silver rays

  telling apart

  signaling from afar.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do remember the spot?

  The one we lay our lazy backs against

  its lumpy surface

  massaging us,

  stuck to it

  like mussels.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  The one where the sun sets.

  Its bright colours

  fall on us.

  We fear no more.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  The one we look down at the sea.

  Our reflecting image

  gives us a peek of

  what our future

  could be.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  The one with the receding sea

  returning to cover us like a blanket

  embracing and protecting.

  We feel safe and sound.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  Looking at the celestial map

  we pick a star

  and draw it close

  its radiant light

  sucks up our sorrow.

  Our hearts are jubilant

  forever more.

  Meet me at the rock.

  Oh do you remember the spot?

  The one where you and I

  fade away.

  Face to face

  hand in hand

  we become one.