Friday, May 16, 2008

The Shadows of Birds: 42

Yannis Ritsos

42.
Discreet lights of avenues
beneath the trees
a bicycler talks
with a soldier
a drinking glass breaks
on the pavement
the orange juice sketches
a broad-shouldered angel
with one foot missing.

Athens—May 15, 1980

from The Shadows of Birds (1980) [Collected Poems: IDelta ---pg 361-362]

2 comments:

Grant Hackett said...

These poems are magnificent. I've linked to you from fallingoffthemountain.blogspot.com, a blog devoted to one line poems.
Best wishes, Grant

Issa's Untidy Hut said...

Ditto, Don at Issa's Untidy Hut. I have long been a Ritsos fan and this site is wonderful to have available.

Don