Poetry
Michaïl Mitsakis
Το Δάσος
Χωμένη καὶ κρυμμένη, μέσα στὴς ἐλῃές. Ἐλῃὲς πυκνές, μεγάλες, τρισθεώρατες, παχειές, ἐλῃὲς γιγάντιες, τεράστιες, κολοσσαῖες καὶ αἰώνιες, μαζωμένες, ἑνωμένες συνδεμένες, μὲ κορμοὺς ὡσὰν στύλους κυκλωπείων πύργων, κάστρων, ποὺ δὲν μποροῦν νὰ ἀγκαλιάσουν οὔτε εἴκοσι βραχίονες, ρίζες ὁποῦ ἁπλόνονται, χώνονται εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος βαθειά, συστρέφονται κ᾽ ἑλίσσονται καὶ ἀλληλοσμίγονται κ᾽ ἐκτείνονται καὶ καββαλικεύονται κι᾽ ὀγκόνονται καὶ κουλουριάζονται καὶ μπήγονται, σὰν δράκοι καὶ σὰν φείδια, φυλλώματα μαῦρα καὶ δασά, συγκολλημένα κι᾽ ἀδελφωμένα, εἰς σκέπην σκιερὰν καὶ σκοτεινήν, εἰς θόλον ἐρεβώδη, τὸν ὁποῖον δὲν ἰσχύει νὰ περάσῃ οὔτε μιὰ φωτὸς ἀκτῖνα, νὰ χαϊδέψῃ τὸ χορτάρι, ὁποὺ στρώνεται στὰ πόδια των, νοτισμένο καὶ ἁδρότατο. Καὶ ἐλῃές, ἐλῃές, χιλιάδες, μυριάδες, ὁμόγεννες, ὁμοιόμορφες, ὁμόφυτρες, ἀπαράλλαχτες, ἀσύγκριτες, σὰν νὰ τὴς ἔβγαλε, μὲ μιὰ ὁρμὴ μονάχα, λαύρα ἀφώνου καὶ ἀδήλου καὶ ἀγνώστου κι᾽ άνικήτου καὶ ἀνεξηγήτου πυρετοῦ δημιουργίας, πλάσεως, ἐκφράσεως, ὅλες μαζί, τὸ ἔδαφος αὐτό, τὸ λιπαρὸν καὶ σπαργῶν ὡς ζῳωδῶς, — δάμαλις χονδρὴ ποὺ ξεγεννᾷ τοῦς μόσχους της ἀναίσθητα, τυφλά, μουγγά, ἀμίλητα, ὁλόβολους, πολλούς, ἰσομέγεθους βωβούς, — κτῆνος ἐξαπλωμένο καὶ ἀκίνητο, καὶ ἀναδίδον τῆς ζωῆς τῆς ἐνδομύχου του τὸ σιγηλὸν καὶ ἀπόκρυφον καὶ ἤρεμον καὶ βαρύ, βαθὺ ἀνάδευμα εὶς τέκνα καὶ εἰς θρέμματα ἐπίσης καὶ ὁμοίως σιγηλά, καὶ ἤρεμα καὶ ἀκίνητα, κτηνώδη, ρωμαλέα, ίσχυρά, μυστηριώδη, καὶ βαρέα, καὶ βαθέα, καὶ παράδοξα, ἀλλόκοτα, συντηρούμενα, ὀγκούμενα, αὐξανόμενα, πληρούμενα, ἀπὸ χυμοῦ πηχτοῦ, ἀργοῦ, ἀνεξαντλήτου πλούτου, θησαυροῦ, βραδὺ καὶ ἀθόρυβον ἀνέβασμα. […]
c. 1894-1895
The Forest
Buried and hidden, in the olive trees. Olive trees dense, large, enormous, thick, gigantic olive trees, colossal and eternal, clustered together, united and connected, with trunks like pillars of cyclopean towers, castles, which cannot be embraced even by twenty arms, the roots of which spread outwards, sinking deep into the ground, twisting and writhing and coupling and extending and straddling and swelling and curling up and penetrating, like dragons and like snakes, foliage black and bushy, welded and paired together, in a shadowy and dark canopy, a pitch-black dome, through which not even a ray of light can pass to caress the grass which is scattered at their feet, damp and most rugged. And olives, olives, thousands, innumerable, homogenous, uniform, embryonic, immutable, unparalleled, as if he brought them into being, with only one impulse, the heat of the voiceless and dormant and unknown and invincible and inexplicable fever of creation, plasticity, expression, all together, on this ground, like an animal fatty and ripe—a thick heifer that gives birth to her calves senselessly, blindly, silently, mute; whole-bodied, silent young—an animal sprawled outwards, motionless, and issuing forth the life of her innermost being, quietly and secretly and calmly and heavily, deeply binding to her children and likewise nurturing them and also quietly and calmly and motionlessly, beastly, coarsely, forcefully, mysteriously, and heavily, and deeply, and peculiarly, strangely, dependently; swelling, growing, filling up, from a viscous juice, a glistening, inexhaustible wealth, a treasure, quietly and silently increasing. […]
c. 1894-1895
Η Ζωή
[…] Καὶ φῶς τριγύρω, φῶς και φῶς, φῶς χαμηλά, και φῶς ψηλά, φῶς δῶθε καὶ φῶς κεῖθε, φῶς κοντά, φῶς μακρυά, φῶς δεξιά, φῶς ἀριστερά, φῶς εμπρός, φῶς πίσω, φῶς δίπλα, καὶ φῶς πέρα, φῶς εἰς τὰ βουνά, καὶ φῶς στὸν κάμπο, φῶς στὸν οὐρανό, καὶ φῶς στη θάλασσα, φῶς στὴς ράχες, φῶς εἰς τὴς πλαγιές, φῶς εἰς τὰ χωράφια, φῶς στὰ κύματα, φῶς εἰς τὴς κορφές, φῶς εἰς τὰ φύλλα, φῶς εἰς τὰ ἰσιώματα, φῶς τὰ λακκώματα, εἰς τὸ δρόμο φῶς, φῶς στοὺς τοίχους, φῶς στὴς μάντρες, εἰς τοὺς φράχτες φῶς, φῶς εἰς τοὺς βράχους, φῶς εἰς τὴς σπηλιές, φῶς εἰς τὸ χορτάρι, εἰς τὸν ἄμμο φῶς, φῶς εἰς τὰ λουλούδια, στὸν ἀφράκη φῶς, φῶς εἰς στα κυπαρίσσια, φῶς εἰς τὰ χαμόκλαδα, φῶς πάνω, καὶ φῶς κάτω, φῶς παντοῦ, ἀένναος πλημμύρα, φλόγα μαλακή, ἤπια φλόγα, χυμένη εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, ἀτελείωτη, ἀδιάκοπη, ἀπέραντη, ἀείρροη, φλόγα κατεβαίνουσα ἐπάνωθεν, φλόγα κάτωθεν ἀνεβαίνουσα, φλόγα ὁλοῦθε σκορπισμένη, φῶς γλυκό, φῶς ἱλαρό, καὶ φῶς καθάριο, φῶς διαυγές, καὶ φῶς ἀμίαντον, καὶ φῶς στιλπνόν, καὶ φῶς ἀσκίαστον, φῶς ἄχραντον, φῶς φέγγον, φῶς λαμπρύνον, φῶς φαιδρύνον, φῶς γυμνόν, καὶ φῶς κρουστόν, φῶς ἁδρόν, καὶ φῶς ἁβρόν, φῶς πλούσιον, φῶς πραΰ, φῶς παῖον, φῶς θωπεῦον, φῶς λευκόν, καὶ φῶς χρυσόν, καὶ φῶς πορφύρινον, φῶς πυρπολοῦν, καὶ φῶς χαϊδεῦον, φῶς κοχλάζον, καὶ αἰθέριον φῶς, φῶς προσψαῦον, φῶς προθίγον, φῶς ἁπλούμενον, καὶ φῶς διπλόνον, φῶς τυλίγον, ἀγκαλιάζον φῶς, φῶς στολίζον, καὶ φῶς κρῦβον, ἀναδεῖχνον φῶς, καὶ φῶς θαμβόνον, καὶ ξανοῖγον φῶς, καὶ φῶς ἀχνίζον, ἐξαχνίζον φῶς, φῶς ἀνυψόνον, φῶς διεγεῖρον, φῶς ἀνασταῖνον, φῶς κουφίζον, ἐλαφρῦνον φῶς, φῶς ἐνισχύον, ἀναψύχον φῶς, καὶ φῶς ἐξαῖρον, φῶς καθαῖρον, φῶς μεθύον, θεῖον φῶς. Καὶ δροσιὰ συγχρόνως, ἁπαλὴ δροσιά, δροσιὰ βελουδωτή, χνουδωτὴ δροσιά, δροσιὰ περιπετῶσα, παίζουσα δροσιά, δροσιὰ μυροβολοῦσα, μυστικὴ δροσιά, δροσιὰ ὡσὰν τῆς γῆς ἀνασασμός, ὡς ἄχνα τοῦ πελάγους, ὡς πνοὴ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. […]
c. 1894-1895
Life
[…] And light all around, light and light, light dim, and light bright, light here and light there, light close, light far, light right, light left, light in front, light behind, light across, and light beyond, light on the mountains, and light in the meadow, light in the sky, and light in the sea, light on the ridges, light on the slopes, light in the fields, light on the waves, light on the peaks, light on the leaves, light on the plateaus, light in the hollows, on the road light, light on the walls, light in the yards, on the fences light, light on the rocks, light in the caves, light on the grass, on the sand light, light on the flowers, on the foamy seas light, light on the cypress trees, light in the bushes, light above, and light below, light all over, perpetual flood, flame soft, gentle flame, blazing through the air, endless, ceaseless, relentless, constantly flowing, flame descending from above, flame ascending from below, flame scattered everywhere, light sweet, light cheerful, and light clean, light clear, and light crystalline, and light lustrous, and light shadowless, light immaculate, light splendorous, light brilliant, light beaming, light naked, and light woven, light rough, and light tender, light abundant, light tamed, light stricken, light fondled, light white, and light golden, and light purple, light ablaze, and light caressed, light boiling, and ethereal light, light touched, light unfolding, light spreading, and light doubling, enveloping light, embracing light, adorning light, hiding light, revelatory light, and dazzling light, and light opening up, and vaporising light, dissipating light, rising light, exciting light, growing light, hollow light, lightening light, strengthening light, refreshing light, and exceptional light, pure light, intoxicating light, divine light. And at the same time dew, soft dew, velvety dew, fuzzy dew, roaming dew, playful dew, fragrant dew, secret dew, dew like the breathing of the earth, as the sea’s foam, as a breath from the sky. […]
c. 1894-1895
Michaïl Mitsakis (1868-1916) was a writer and journalist and one of the most important representatives of the New Athenian School of literature of the 1880s. Although he was a pioneer of the Greek urban short story and is well known for his writings in the naturalist and realist traditions, around the onset of his schizophrenia in 1894 his writing took on a more radical turn, and he later abandoned the Greek language, writing poems in French which are today admired for their proto-surrealist qualities. After years of homelessness and destitution he died in the Dromokaïteio asylum in Athens on June 6, 1916.
Michael Alexandratos is a writer, researcher and publisher based in Sydney, Australia. He runs the small imprint Cycladic Press, which is dedicated to publishing books on Modern Greek literature and culture, as well as the blog Amnesiac Archive, which focuses on his music and recorded sound research. He is currently working on an anthology of Greek outsider writing.