für Elise
a poem by Vassilis Polyzos\
a prophet of ancient days\ the old mariner\ the old lecher\ careless\ in lighting the torch\ with tinder and flint\ after some failures be it noted\ (old age never comes alone)\ burnt his snow-white beard\ what a customer we said\ he cut his nose to spite his face\ to whose avail will be\ this unstoppable logorrhea\ a spent Molotov bomb which\ plops down the stairs\ and into the drawing room\ where\ spastic cherubim are a-coupling\ and the piano\ is immersed up to the neck\ in the sonata für Elise\ From the collection of poems «Ηλιακό Ποδήλατο» (“The Solar Bicycle”) published by METAIXMIO, Athens Greece, in 2003. Translated from the Greek by the author.