The Taste of Brine
Ever since our lives began,
aman, aman!
we have known the taste of brine -
aman, aman!
Mingled with our blood, the sea
aman, aman!
floods our veins with poetry,
aman, aman!
floods our eyes with bitter streams,
aman, aman!
floods our lungs and drowns our dreams -
aman, aman!
Thalassa pikri, pikri!
Aman, aman!
Pikri einai i zoi!
Aman…
A Taste of Heaven
Pastries drowned in milk and honey
(Ax! Manoly mou, Manoly!)
I prepare for bridal feasts -
(Ax! Ti zoi mou ti pikri!)
Milk is like the galaxy
(Ax! Afros tou ouranou!)
that you sail above, alone …
(Pikri einai i zoi!)
When they found you in the sea
(Ax! Manoly mou! Manoly!)
were your final thoughts of me?
(Ax! pikri zoi!)
In your arms I tasted heaven -
(Mia stigmoula tis ekstasis!)
but you left me for the deep…
(Ax! Yiati; Aman aman!)
Syrup oozes from the pastry
(Glykeia itan i zoi!)
as seawater from a sponge…
(Ax! To almyro nero!)
They found you bound in ropes of weed,
(O kaimenos mou! Aman!)
in your arms a diving-stone…
Aman!…
*These are original poems inspired
by traditional Greek island songs
and the experience of the sponge-
diving community on Kalymnos.