Night, by Kostas Karyotakis

The kids that play, in the spring dusk
a faraway yell;
The wind that words, through roses’ lips,
Whispers and stays.
The open windows that breath the hours,
My empty room,
A train coming from an unknown land,
My lost dreams.
Bells that fade away,
And the night that keeps falling on the city,
On people’s faces,
On the sky’s mirror,
Now on my whole life.

translation of “Βράδυ” by Kostas Karyotakis by Kostas Koukopoulos for Ieva. Video by mavrothalassa. Music by Lena Platonos and singing by Savina Yannatou.

Only, by Kostas Karyotakis

Oh, it all had to come about the way it came to be
That hopes and roses withered
That, like boats, the years left me
Left and faded away

That, like we would part at night
So many friends forever were lost
The place where as a child I grew
One afternoon I left behind

The pretty, simple girls – oh loves! –
Life was to take away – dance whirl
Even the pain, once fragrant,
Was to bear barren upon me.

All of it had to happen. Only the night
Wasn’t to be so sweet
The stars there blinking like eyes
As if laughing at me.

Nipenthi, 1921

translation of “Μόνο” by Kostas Karyotakis by Kostas Koukopoulos. Video by @iacovos_camchis. Music by Lena Platonos and singing by Savina Yannatou.