A Collection of Poems by
......... G. Theodoridis
©1994
CONTENTS
The Tranquil Trip...................................................................................................................................... 4
Plea for a Portrait...................................................................................................................................... 6
Emotional Flux...................................................................................................................................... 8
A Poet's work...................................................................................................................................... 10
The Diploma...................................................................................................................................... 11
Song on a Canvas...................................................................................................................................... 13
Supple Reeds...................................................................................................................................... 14
Vased Chrysanthemums...................................................................................................................................... 16
On my Colleague's Departure...................................................................................................................................... 17
Salome...................................................................................................................................... 19
Translation of Sappho's "Evocation
to Aphrodite"...................................................................................................................................... 20
Shower...................................................................................................................................... 21
The Slipper...................................................................................................................................... 22
The Tram...................................................................................................................................... 23
Visit me now!...................................................................................................................................... 24
The Warrigal Bitch...................................................................................................................................... 25
Embryos...................................................................................................................................... 26
Enlightenment...................................................................................................................................... 27
Fire In The Swamp...................................................................................................................................... 28
Valediction...................................................................................................................................... 30
Worm Lovers...................................................................................................................................... 31
That There Hill...................................................................................................................................... 32
Theme on a Canvas...................................................................................................................................... 33
Trap-veil over Trap-hearth....................................................................................................................................... 34
Sediment...................................................................................................................................... 36
Sanity...................................................................................................................................... 39
Anser Anserum...................................................................................................................................... 40
Midnight at a Singles' Bar...................................................................................................................................... 41
The Morning after on a Greek Beach...................................................................................................................................... 43
The Odd Artist...................................................................................................................................... 44
The Odd Photographer...................................................................................................................................... 46
Upon Homer's Odysseus...................................................................................................................................... 48
Olive Grove Soil...................................................................................................................................... 50
Prometheus...................................................................................................................................... 51
Ruins...................................................................................................................................... 53
Gardens...................................................................................................................................... 55
Marble Seasons....................................................................................................................................... 56
Goats...................................................................................................................................... 57
Salmon Women...................................................................................................................................... 58
The Teacher...................................................................................................................................... 59
Venus of the Streets...................................................................................................................................... 60
Anchor the Busy Shadows...................................................................................................................................... 71
And so, once again I see....................................................................................................................................... 72
Flibbetigibets in the Ashes...................................................................................................................................... 74
Asphodel/Daffodil...................................................................................................................................... 76
What The Priest Saw...................................................................................................................................... 79
Birth Rush...................................................................................................................................... 81
The Brigitte Quartet...................................................................................................................................... 83
Brigitte In The Forest....................................................................................................................................... 84
Brigitte in the Well....................................................................................................................................... 87
Brigitte in my Glass....................................................................................................................................... 88
Brigitte in my Bath...................................................................................................................................... 90
Allegro Vivace...................................................................................................................................... 92
Butterfly...................................................................................................................................... 95
Cassandra...................................................................................................................................... 97
Cauldrons...................................................................................................................................... 99
Classroom Rites...................................................................................................................................... 101
Didgeridoo...................................................................................................................................... 103
How was I?...................................................................................................................................... 106
Have I a good figure?...................................................................................................................................... 108
Jasmine...................................................................................................................................... 110
Letter to a Friend...................................................................................................................................... 111
Medea...................................................................................................................................... 112
The Sacrifice...................................................................................................................................... 115
Sirens...................................................................................................................................... 116
Soul Mate...................................................................................................................................... 119
Emmigration...................................................................................................................................... 120
Dear XOX...................................................................................................................................... 129
Our Ancient Boat...................................................................................................................................... 130
The Palm and the Cypress...................................................................................................................................... 132
Ode on an Aged Man...................................................................................................................................... 134
Edwina's Bush Home...................................................................................................................................... 137
The Soul of the Elm...................................................................................................................................... 138
Index of
titles and first
lines.....................................................................................147
The
Tranquil Trip
(For
Prof. George H. Gellie)
The Eucharist is in the
tabernacle.
All is well
The service may begin.
This is a face that opens like
a christian
Tabernacle:
The eyes and mouth slowly
phrase
Out the alchemy which turns
behind the forehead's
Deep
Fraternity of lines; and on
this face is the
Tranquil wisdom - drawn
gracefully with quills from
Within
And with splendid colours supplied by a god
Whose dictum might well be:
"words
Are
actions,
indeed; good
words are good
Actions and vice versa!"
Or:
"Words are the wombs of
actions and
Actions the graves of
words."
Words, indeed; all the words
uttered,
All those written and will be.
Dust now the precious marbles,
Unroll the frail papyrus and
read,
Read!
He taught us what those Greeks
- by the
Same splendid alchemy of words
- managed to do.
Words, accents, breathing
marks and iota
Subscripts. How easily the meaning changed
With the subtle twist and turn
of an
Accent or a breathing mark -
Why wars
Have been won and lost because
of just
Such a subtlety!
And with that teaching the
misty outline of a shore
Lined with marble took shape
for us
And
Ahoy, me mates! Heave ho and sharpen your elbows at
The oar! I know this shore and
Just a mile deeper in the mist
There is a spire!
Ah, the spire!
This beautiful spire that
inspired us all to spend some
Time
In loftier company, slowly, socratically, taking
All the
questions in, sipping at the Eucharist wine.
Inspired us all!
What more may
students ask of their
Teachers?
Anchors aweigh mates! Heave ho
at the anxious oar!
Will they still come?
Will the marble shores still come
And
Will the men and women with
the
Elegant minds still come?
Plea for a
Portrait
Paper and pen in one hand and
a candle's
Butt with its scuttling flame
In the other,
I come to praise her again.
Drowning Time part! Like the waters of the
Hebrew myth
Part!
Let these waters stop their
rushing course but