Hello, once again, dear reader!!!!! I wrote this poem, which is the first free-verse poem I've ever released and wanted to share it with you! If you really want to find out the meaning behind the poem I think you must (!!!!!) check out the poem on PoetryGenius with verified annotations by myself.
I suggest reading it here while you play the song I've embedded here and then going HERE to read the explanations and really understand it. The title is in latin and it means "heart of a lion".
Σε όποιον λέω ότι γράφω, σχεδόν πάντα, η πρώτη ερώτηση που δέχομαι είναι "γιατί δεν γράφω στα ελληνικά". Και αυτό γίνεται γιατί α) είμαι πολύ καλύτερος στα αγγλικά και β) δεν ξέρω γιατί, αλλά δεν μου "βγαίνει".
Αποφάσισα όμως ότι αξίζει να προσπαθήσω, τουλάχιστον μία φορά για να δω τι θα βγει.
Το αποτέλεσμα είναι αυτό που θα διαβάσετε παρακάτω...
Σαν το φως του ήλιου που σβήνει
και το ηλιοβασίλεμα απαλά φιλά τα βουνά,
στο τέλος μου φτάνω, τίποτα πιά δεν έχει μείνει
και η καρδιά μου θα χαθεί, σαν πλοίο σε πελάγη μακρινά.
Σαν την βουή του πλήθους, ένα βράδυ στην Αθήνα,
όλα γρήγορα τρέχουν, μες την τρέλα του κόσμου.
Κι ίσως όλα τελειώνουν σαν τα βράδια εκείνα,
χείλη πικρά, μάτια υγρά, χέρια αδειανά στο τέλος του δρόμου.
Σαν τις μέρες του καλοκαιριού, σε ένα νησί, μακριά,
γέλια ταξιδεύουν στον αέρα, χαμόγελα ζωγραφίζουν την σκηνή.
Λέμε πως ξεχνάμε τον πόνο, μα πονάμε βαθιά,
γιατί η χαρά ενός αιώνα, είναι ο πόνος που νιώθω για μοναχά μιά στιγμή.
Σαν τα πουλιά που πετούν περήφανα στην αγκαλιά του ουρανού,
κάθε μέρα γρήγορα χάνεται με μια κενή ιαχή.
Και όπως τα κύματα, που με δύναμη χτυπούν την βάση ενός βράχου,
έτσι με συναισθήματα πλημμυρίζει η δικιά μου η ψυχή.
Και σαν ποίημα μισοτελειωμένο,
που για πάντα αίνιγμα θα παραμείνει,
για εμάς χάνεται το τρένο
και το τέλος, στο στήθος μου επάνω, για πάντα σαν φυλαχτό θα μείνει.
But still, through all the hard times that we face
through all the hurt, pain and disappointments in our lives,
we rise, stronger than ever, feeling like the winners of this race, even if we feel like we're trying to balance steak knives.
How many times do we feel that we live in vain, how many times do we feel lost? How many times do we say that we're the only one's to blame? How many times do we feel like we should pay the cost? But still, we rise like a phoenix from the ashes, we rise, walking tall against the rain. Against all odds, we find light in the darkness. We rise once more, 'cause it's our time to reign.
(The line "balance steak knives" was inspired by a song, so I thought I should put a link there)
Here you can buy and read the description of one of my favorite books "ICO : Castle in the Mist" which is the theme of this poem I'm writing. I hope you like it, cause I've put my best into making it a really good poem. The story of this book is based on a videogame. It sounds weird, I know.
The theme song is also a masterpiece and one of my favorite songs.
Here it is :
Above : The boy and the girl of the story, Ico and Yorda, holding hands. In the story, when Ico doesn't hold her hand or if he is not near her, the souls of the sacrifices try to take her back to the cage through dark wholes that appear on the floor. The painting above was inspired by "The Nostalgia of the Infinite" by the painter Giorgio de Chirico and it was painted by the director of the videogame, Fumito Ueda. The painting depicts a part at the ending of the story, where Ico and Yorda try to escape the castle.
I first played the videogame when it came out, in 2001-2002. To this day, it's still one of my favorites.
There's nothing like this place, this castle in the mist
a scary place, a place of pain, but no one can resist.
It's a ripple in the ocean, yet, it is the whole world
an empty place, it can't be explained by no word.
Nothing can define this empty castle sitting on this hill, next to the sea, but so far from this world, from this galaxy
abandoned, vacant, empty, lifeless, blank , like a little cavity.
Oh, Castle, are you real, or are you a mirage?
Am I your slave, your friend, or am I in charge?
I do not know, but I do know that within you, there lies death.
Are you my rebirth or are am I to leave here my last breath?
I am a sacrifice, born for you
but I can't find a way to get through to you.
The sarcophagus broke in half, like it was made of dust
it's late now, it's the time of dusk..
No one knows where you are, oh, Castle, you're forbidden,
only the priests and kings know your location, the place where you're hidden.
A priest and two soldiers brought me to you, but they closed my eyes
not wanting me to see the way, not wanting for me to see through your disguise.
They all fear you, so they give you sacrifices, us, the horned children,
we're born once even one or two hundred years and we're considered villains,
'cause once, a horned knight tried to destroy your kingdom, your mighty Queen,
and since then, sacrifices are all you've ever seen.
But I am different, because I was born to bring you down,
that's why I fear you castle, I am the first to be capable of bringing you down,
but I'm only a child, not a wise warrior, so I'm afraid
'cause I'm abandoned, like a little cade...
I was supposed to die and give my soul to you, but I'm free, running through your hallways.
I was supposed to be here, with you, always,
to be a part of you, like the crumpled souls of the other sacrifices that live within your walls
but I am different, I'm born to bring an end to your existence, I'm stronger than those souls.
Once I began roaming through your corridors, I found a huge cage
and in it, I found the whole world... I found a girl, at first, it seemed strange
but there she was, her beauty overshadowing me, her pure soul lighted the room.
She was afraid, too, she must've been here for a long time, you're her mighty doom.
I freed her and when she touched me, my heart was filled with light,
a light so pure, it blurred my sight.
Oh, mighty Queen of the Castle, she's you little daughter,
yet, like a prisoner you hold her.
That's because, you have no body of your own, oh Queen, you're the Queen of darkness
and you want to kill the light of the world, dear Queen, that's why you bring her sadness.
You both have lived for thousands of years, but haven't aged a day,
'cause you're only a spirit and she's your vessel, you're the hunter, she's the prey.
She once wanted to destroy your deathly plans, alongside the horned knight
but you brought an end to it, guarding her from the light.
You made her you prisoner, forever to be here,
to serve your purposes. She's just a child, but she's your heir.
She wishes she could be gone,
but she doesn't even know, if she'll see another dawn.
But thousands of dawns have passed, but she did not notice,
'cause you've forsaken her, you broke another promise.
She forgot how to speak, she can't communicate, but she gives me visions,
memories of this place. I see its' glory and that it's vicious,
but tell me, Queen, why, oh why, did you want the God of Darkness to rule,
why do you deprive the world of the Light and treat it like a tool?
Me and her, your little daughter, we're born to destroy you, don't you know?
It has been your destiny, and it's happening, right now.
Can't you feel it, creeping upon you like the morning sun?
I forgot that light can't touch you, you can't feel it, none.
Every time that I touch her hand, I see another memory
another story of her life, which you've coated with emery.
I feel something that you can't, that's why I'll defeat you, it's love
but you're as gloomy and caliginous as the mist that twirls and swirls above.
The Castle is dusty, old and destroyed,
yet that is only a disguise, to make it seem void.
We face each other, Queen, and you try to kill me,
but your daughter and all those spirits, help me
to avoid your deadly curse. I want to leave the Castle and take your daughter away
to make us disappear, like a needle in the hay.
It's hard but we can make it, I fight with all my will
we're trying to escape, get away from this hill.
The Light fights the Dark and soon the end will come,
to either your whole army, or maybe of them, some
but surely, we'll escape, I have no doubt of that.
Many people that tried to do it, you've turned them to stone, I can't forget that,
but the knight comes to my sight, his ghost gives me his sword
"and with it, you'll defeat her" is all I'm told.
As we fight, I pass out and wake up in the sea
and your daughter is all that I can see,
she holds my hand, but I don't know if we defeated you
as soon as she could speak, she told me " I believe in YOU".
But my strength gives up on me, I pass out once more
I wake on a beach, left without her, the one that I adore.
I don't know where I am or what to do, so I try to return, back to my home
I travel fast, through forests and next to seas, under a sky painted orange, looking like a dome.
Days begin and end and soon I found my way back,
back to my village, while the sky's black.
I tell them all about our story and how we defeated her,
but I can't forget about you, oh, how I wish you were here..
I'll come back for you, now that the Dark is lost
I hope that when I come, I'll find you by that coast.
I still feel you, you mean so much to me
your beauty is something that's way beyond me.
I am on my way to find you, just to see
if you're there or if I lost you at the sea. I hope you're well, now that your doomed days are over
but what if I don't find you, will all of it be over?
I dream of you, but we're apart,
but soon, I'll find you and I'll give you all my heart. The journey's long, but I can't wait to live with you by my side,
it's sad, the way I'm so messed up inside.
I'll come, my love, I'll find you,
and then, I wish to live my life beside you. Sweet Yorda, where are you? Are you somewhere safe?
I hope you'll be there, so I see your face again.. One day..
There must be a few mistakes in this poem. Either way, no one's perfect, right?
I was inspired to write this, because this is what I was doing some minutes before; I was walking alone, in the middle of the night. I do it a lot, but this time, while I was walking, words started to get into my head and they formed this. I don't think it's such a great piece of writing, but it's something that I knew I had to write.
I walk alone.... as the night falls, as the darkness takes over I walk alone, in the night, feeling like I don't walk; like I hover over the road, over the world. I walk alone, but I am not by myself on this journey because even when I walk alone, there is always someone there, someone yearning for me, someone I love, someone I trust. People that time can't erase from my mind, people that fight on the same side as me, people good, people kind. Memories are there, too, to keep every part of me alive, to keep me going. Good or bad, it doesn't matter, because they both are a part of this being. I walk alone and the road in front of me is long; but that only makes me stronger, knowing that many walk, but few until the end of it, few want it to be longer. Because they don't know; the longer the path, the bigger the reward. I fight and conquer, but I don't need a sword. 'Cause even if I am alone, I have the biggest weapon within me all the people I love, all the people I care about, they are the light that shines within me. I walk alone, even though others are walking around me; they only wander. But not me, I don't wander, because my journey, isn't the kind that people can ponder. I have a long road ahead of me, but it makes me happy, never sad that I have a goal to reach, so I can't just stand. If you ask these people that are walking close to me, they only see few lights in the night cause they don't see what I can; they are blind, they don't see the real light. The light of inspiration within me, the one that even in the night, shines brighter than the sun. I'm inspired; therefore I inspire. But not all of us can walk this road, few really can. This secret "power" is not a gift all of us possess, so not all can see through the eyes of their soul. Knowing this, I try to shed some light in others' worlds, even through the tinniest hole. So I walk alone, but I don't feel alone. 'Cause I was inspired to inspire. And I was inspired to give, to help, to light a fire. A fire that can heal the whole world, if all of us were to carry this heavy load until the end, if all of us wished to be the burden bearers, to carry away the evil and bring it to an end. So I want to let everyone know... you're not alone. This is dedicated to everyone that walks beside me, even when I am alone.
