Translated from the Greek by Karen Van Dyck
The Postman Died
Because he had no letter to deliver. Sorry I found the time to write it but not to send it or rather I found the words to write it but no reason to send it. No intermediary was necessary I was the final destination Since in love, as in fairy tales, all the characters (at least two — and usually more) are one. So, dear postman, may you rest in peace. Besides, usually the doors you knock on twice, open.
Memory-peeler
Memory-peeler marked down – Only a few left to go, Hurry! – because, as we all know, memories get stuck when swallowed whole together with the thick peel of loss. But if you miss it this time, don’t worry! Feelings on sale are ubiquitous these days… You’ll see: just scroll down the Lethe site.
Maria Patakia was born in Athens. She studied Law there and then in Paris. She works in Brussels. A lawyer by trade, an actor for fun, and a poet out of necessity, she divides her time, pursuits and heart between three cities. Her first book of poetry Bimatistes tou chronou (Apace with time) came out from Melani in 2016. She is president of Kyklos, the Greek Cultural Center of Belgium.
Karen Van Dyck teaches at Columbia University. Her writing on Modern Greek poetry and translation has appeared in such journals as the Los Angeles Review of Books, PN Review, and World Literature Today. Her translations include The Scattered Papers of Penelope(Graywolf 2009) and Austerity Measures: New Greek Poetry (Penguin 2016, NYRB 2017) which won the London Hellenic Prize.
World Poetry Review 