The sea
The sea as a seascape
In a frame over the dining table
The sea a forever moving element
Scary to seamen
When they face a storm
The sea as holiday background
Refreshing water on a tanned skin
Burnt by the sun
The sea an omnipresent blue
Continuation of the sky above
The pebble
Those shiny pebbles
Seemed to be covered by silver dust
I left them where I found them on the lovely beach
Didn’t put them in my pocket
As I would have done years ago
When memories used to matter
When an entire life was unfolding in front of me
And a certain longevity was predicted.
Back then I used to think that memories would be necessary
That’s why I would stroke the pebble
Feeling its rough surface on my skin
It would remind me of the beautiful strand
Of love, of friends who had been there with me
Through this pebble I’d reminisce of the island
Which had been so hospitable to us
This time, however, there was no eternity for me
Nor even the illusion of one
Time had taken another dimension
After so many summers
After so many holidays spent on the isles of Greece
That’s why I left the silver pebble alone
For the next person to find it
They would surely need some amulet
They would surely need some romantic memories
I inspected the glittery stone for a while
And left it in the company of all the other pebbles
For the next person to find it
They would surely have some time to think of the past.
The jellyfish
“Beware of the jellyfish,” people told me
And as I was about to dive into the sea
I started scrutinizing the crystal-clear water
In terror and awe
I didn’t want my first swim of the season
My holidays of which I have been dreaming for so many years
I didn’t want them ruined by a brainless invertebrate
I didn’t want the end of a tentacle
Like a strand of Medusa’s curly hair
My innocent skin to electrocute
I just didn’t want to be touched by this monster
The sand
An endless sandy beach
On some Greek island
An ad for the tourist bureau
Promises endless happiness
Never-ending like the beach
Your holidays: just one perfect picture
Happiness and the sand
So hot under your skin
It makes your body shiver
What a strange kind of massage
It doesn’t ask you, it hugs you gently
A summer dream for all your senses
The sand. I never liked it
It felt strange under my feet
So unpleasant, it would stick to me
My idea of happiness is a coast of pebbles
On my favourite island of the Dodecanese
Others are welcome to enjoy the perfect sandy beach
The wave
Just like one huge wave
Life will grab you unawares
It will toss your body upwards
And then will bring it out to the shore
Just like a wave you hadn’t seen coming
Life will appear to shake you
To drown you almost, to scare you
To cover you with foam
This quiet but dangerous wave
Will probably make you feel happy
As you lose control
As you faint helplessly
With no sense of direction
The wave of life is powerful, is beautiful
In all its glorious blue and white colours
The wave of life sounds almost like a poem
It leaves a salty taste in your mouth
And you go up and down
In the short moments of a lifetime
In the sad and happy moments
Within this one and only wave
LS 2022.