FATALISM Poem by ILIAS FOUKIS

BIOGRAPHY

The Greek poet ILIAS FOUKIS , was born on 20 August 1969 in Epirus in northwestern Greece. Began to write poetry since 1988 when he was student in the Lyceum. Published volume of poetry THE TESTAMENT OF A LESSER GOD , which has been translated into ten languages including English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.. Has won literary awards - OSCAR DE DOS OURO VENCEDORES, Brazil 2012 - MASSIMO D'AZEGLIO, Italy, 2012, 2013 - CITA DEL GALATEO, Italy in 2013. MASSIMO D;AZEGLIO 2016. His poem titled YOUNG GREEK SOLITARY was included in Poetry Anthology - U.S. Library of Congress. Works and lives in Athens.

FATALISM

I will always set upon my way
with a river commencing on its own…

The river is very narrow
and I don’t believe it will enlarge
my fate.

The only thing I hope for

is speed.

Praise be to Apollo
you a being so incredible
I will dream of you all at one go.

But walking along
the Dream will be transformed into nightmare
because from the anonymous cries
exasperated waves
will clash with the shores of the World
which can be heard sharp and clear.

You who with theatrics
and the speed of rivers
wanted to crown human visions
withdraw now with Idealism both of you defeated
and see how hopelessly has been flooded
the Promised Land.

And thus the river has put into gear my Dreams
which will apparently endow
the waterfalls with winged abilities
and that same moment when all the world
will be pulled down
my Dreams will be lifted high.

But I along with the Dreams
also have my own life to live.

They have sworn
that the one will never part from the other
and its beside the point that on the road
the naive buyers of hope stretched out their hands…
and even more beside the point
that around life and the Dreams
there is in force a hostile space…
and the weighty life can be smashed to bits
by this violent fall.

But then again who knows?

The Holy River is perhaps sad
                                          about wretched life
and this savage fall…
omnipotent…
              tempestuous…
                            inevitable…
as if the trees along the coast had been transformed
into humble supplicants
it carries it out without a hitch!

Because just so you’ll know
oh! you the fortunate ones on earth
from the moment the rivers sent me forth
all of the emotions which escaped the catastrophe
I then scattered at the entrance to the seas
and as they will be dressed in my own fate
they will stand in for me in the open sea
never to return again to this earth so desolate.

It would be better if this…occurred!

Who knows what’s going on in this eternal damnation
since not everyone has the possibility
of ascending as the Blissful
or descending as the Unfortunate…
and as they surrender to this tragic
                                                        helplessness
the only answer to the question
What does it mean to have once existed on this Earth?
they interpret as boiling down to
never having the possibility                                                         
                                                        of ever going back…
toward eternal tranquility…
                                                                      these rivers.

Translation by   PHILIP RAMP