The Shadows of Birds: 44-46

Yannis Ritsos

44.
The wing on the right
red
the other on the left
white
Saturday mid-afternoon
springtime leaves
solitude
the locked-up mirrors.

Athens—May 17, 1980


45.
The cup of coffee
the teaspoon on the plate
three cigarettes
he tapped the table with his fingernail
tap tap and then another
tap—
will the drowned man
ever answer
from the garden well?
unless he's the one
who's tapping the table
with his one fingernail?
tap.

Athens—May 17, 1980


46.
Scorpions on the floor
tiny wheels
hairpins
drips of wax
the house smells
of feather down and perfume
the women
stand in front of the mirrors
using the combs of
the murdered.

Athens—May 17, 1980

from The Shadows of Birds (1980) [Collected Poems: IDelta ---pg 362-363]