Manólis Pratikákis
The Dormition and Resurrection of the Bodies of Domenicos
I
Having unweaved the black,
in the deserted cocoon, the body
melts.
Abandoned by its form
it weaves the mythical Allegory.
It weaves the wings. Circle by circle
a tunnel of death towards the exit.
II
In exile he cloisters himself articulating
ashen terror. Alone
the defect ministers to him a priestess.
Yet
encouched with immortality
the instant he's lost
within the colours.
III
Thread by thread the limbs are consumed
for a secret migration.
To his drowning forms
in distant waters.
To the heavens' homestead
which will receive the angel.
He shines in incineration.
IV
In a white-clad upsurge. In silence
he lengthens the bones.
With crooked limbs creatures
rising upwards, as you see them
bending in the currents.
Turning this way an unrevealed
ocean, he rendered the bodies weightless.
Having assimilated azure
they fit into their heavens.
V
His hand a bird of passage
his name he inscribes on
running water. He hatches
light
and has for his nest a
mile inside paradise.
Translated by David Connolly
Page(s) 36
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