The Spider
Danae Sioziou
Translated from the Greek by Panagiotis Kechagias and Mania Meziti
Dear Sir,
I watch you from the ceiling,
your coffee requests more sugar.
Something about the clothes and the shoes is off,
you shouldn’t have patched up all the holes.
Grab the day like a knife,
the weight of your life keeps growing,
the agreement with the mirror has been cancelled
and you are turning fat.
Tomorrow I will hang before your nose,
perhaps you could please feed me?
Sincerely,
The Spider
Dear Spider,
just yesterday the bat gave birth in a corner of the attic, her tasty eggs float in the air.
I haven’t learned to drive, to debone fish, to read newspapers.
I have two useless dog teeth and a BB gun.
I have made a deal with the morning coffee,
I respect the decision of the mirror.
I no longer set traps for birds,
each day I head to the river and shoot the waters.
Yours,
C.
Η αράχνη
Αγαπητέ Κύριε,
σας παρακολουθώ από το ταβάνι
ο καφές ζητάει ολοένα περισσότερη ζάχαρη
κάτι με τα ρούχα και τα παπούτσια πάει λάθος
δεν έπρεπε να μπαλώσετε τις τρύπες
αρπάξτε τη μέρα σαν μαχαίρι
το βάρος τη ζωής σας αυξάνεται
η συμφωνία με τον καθρέφτη ακυρώθηκε
κι εσείς παχαίνετε
αύριο θα κρεμαστώ μπροστά στη μύτη σας
θα μπορούσατε ίσως να με ταίσετε;
Φιλικά,
η Αράχνη
Αγαπητή Αράχνη,
μόλις εχθές η νυχτερίδα γέννησε σε μία γωνιά της σοφίτας,
τα λαχταριστά αυγά της αιωρούνται σχεδόν στον αέρα.
Δεν έμαθα να οδηγώ, να ξεκοκαλίζω ψάρια, εφημερίδες.
Έχω δύο άχρηστους κυνόδοντες κι ένα φλόμπερ.
Έχω κάνει συμφωνία με τον πρωινό καφέ, σέβομαι την απόφαση του καθρέφτη.
Δεν στήνω πια παγίδες για πουλιά, όρθιος στην όχθη πυροβολώ το ποτάμι.
Δικός σας,
Κ.
Danae Sioziou is a Greek-German poet (b. 1987). She studied English Philology, Cultural Management and European History. She was co-editor of the literary journal “Teflon”. Her first book Useful Children Games was awarded the Jiannis Varveris Prize for Young Writers and the State Prize for New Writers. Her poems have been translated into ten languages and she has taken part in several poetry festivals. Oceans of Lemonade, her 2nd book, will be launched by Antipodes in 2019.
Panagiotis Kechagias (b.1978) is a writer and translator. His first novel Final Warning was published in 2016 by Antipodes publishing house. Among others he has translated Solar Bones by Mike McCormack and Prodigals by Greg Jackson. His work has been featured in many magazines in Greece and abroad and he was a resident in OMI and at Sangam House.
Mania Meziti (b. 1965) is a professional translator and runs the poetry platform poets.gr