Navarra chakeres

Strophes by Kostas Karyotakis

1.

For twenty years I gambled
with books instead of cards;
for twenty years I gambled
and I squandered my life.
Poor now I lie down here
to listen to an easy wisdom
which an old plane tree
whispers to me.


2.

Free from everything I want
to sail to the end of the world.
If I have any friend left,
he should flee, escape.
And when death demands
the wealth I've amassed,
you, my vast bitterness,
will be my only estate.


3.

You told me about your life,
about the loss of youth,
about our love which cries
over its own death,
and while in your eyes,
the hint of a tear glinted
briefly, through the open window
bright sunlight entered.


4.

Why do I squander my days
one after another?
And as my hair grays
so the wine turns sour.
Only when I gaze
through a crystal glass
filled with fresh retsina,
does my life look golden.


5.

Before life abroad could do so,
night had already separated us
from everyone we love.
(Are they all there on the pier?)
Blow your whistle, ship, we're late.
And if we approach our destination,
hold up for a while, then
blow your whistle so we can finally disembark.


6.

Poplars, giants fixed
here on the road-side,
my trees, you've agreed to let
the north wind take your leaves.
You're still the shadow of shadows
cascading across my brow
while I walk the ground below
and the moon is up on high.


7.

Joy! The Joy! Ah the joy of young
children! They capture that girl's
life and bind her--these handsome,
dark highwaymen--and make love to her.
But your book is always open,
a breeze flips its pages.
Fool, fool, you've grown old
without ever being young.


8.

--Poet, my laughter flows
like honey and scorn, but you
never stop beating out
your crown of sounds.
--Girl, I work in vain
but what use is the barren
and wordless vanity
of your agate eye?


9.

Farewell! Farewell! You've gone
with your heavenly eyes
and with flowers around your neck,
you fair hopes for new loves.
Farewell, and you--the one
who looked back when all the rest
had vanished--you saw me again
taking the deep dark road.


10.

Bronze gypsy--tralala!--
skips wildly over there, filled
with joy because he's worked
his bronze all day long,
and because he has his wife,
his property and realm.
Bronze gypsy--tralala!--
gives a kick to the sun!      

Kostas Karyotakis was a Greek poet born in Tripoli, Greece and would remain a prominent and controversial figure in the early twentieth century.  During his short lifetime lasting from 1896-1928 he would write three books, "The Pain of Men and Things," "Nepenthe," and "Elergies & Satires," as well as being a civil servant, lawyer, and apart of the Greek lost generation movement.  Another poet apart of this movement would be Maria Polydouri, whom he had a long love affair with, but would soon die in a sanatorium of tuberculosis at the age of 28.  Before her illness, the two were also extremely heartbroken over the fact that they could not have children due to his syphilis.  Soon after Polydouri's death Karyotakis would kill him self, paying homage to his contemporaries even in his suicide note.  



This photo is from a greek noire film, "O Drakos," or, "The Fiend of Athens," the scene reflects how the woman is the center of the shot, while alcohol remains in the corner, presenting the vices within the mans world.  This style of cinematography, as well as the black and white yet vivid image reflects Karyotakis' melancholy yet crisp poetic style.

In "Strophes" Karyotakis reflects on the past events of his life and his relationships to the ones he's loved, as well as his relationship with addiction and time.  Throughout the poem you see the speakers struggle between the augmentation of life through substance abuse to bring joy, as well as the comparison of a life worth living and one wasted.  Karyotakis alludes to his substance abuse in the fourth strophe, saying, "Only when I gaze/ through a crystal glass/ filled with fresh retsina,/ does my life look golden./"  By looking through the retsina, a form of greek alcohol which can have a golden or rose-like tint, a blurred and more colorful world appears similar to how it would appear by looking through rose colored lens.  This shows how alcohol helps him process the world around him.  In the first through second strophe he says, "For twenty years I gambled/ and squandered my life away/ (...) And when death demands/ the wealth I have amassed,/ you, my vast bitterness/ will be my only estate./" Here he uses currency as a metaphor for his pain, while his real money is in fact wasted on money in the poem.  The definition of strophe is the first section of an ancient greek choral ode, in the poem Karyostakis has in a way taken the first stanza of different poems related to different events or people in his life and compiled them into a list of strophes.  The different stanzas do not have a specific rhyme pattern, but follow a pattern of self-reflection, reflection on nature, death, life, and love.  The tone of the poem switches between one of melancholy, one of self-destruction, and one of freedom.  Overall the poem presents itself in a very sad light, as the author recounts all the ways in which his life turned out in a depressing way, partially due to his own actions.  On the other hand the poem also presents a tone of a free nature while he describes the way of life he thinks is the purest and most fulfilling.  The theme of strophes is that only through death are we able to be completely free of the burden we have bestowed upon ourselves in this life.  

“Kostas Karyotakis Poems >>Strophes.” Yadier Molina Quotes & Sayings | Famous Inspirational Quotes & Sayings, www.inspirationalstories.com/poems/strophes-kostas-karyotakis-poems/.