Once Upon a Time
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"ONCE UPON A TIME" FROM MY ROOF GARDEN, 26 MARCH 2017,MY PHOTO, ©
I was born on the closing days of
The second World War
In a small village of north-west of Greece
Up on the mountains.
The country was devastated
After four years of occupation by
The Nazis and Fascists and
Then
A civil war followed that lasted for
Another four years
Hundreds of thousand souls were lost,
Among them members of my family
The country was left in ruins
The hatred reigned as brother was
Killing brother
We were poor
Scarcely had anything to eat
Having lost my father I had
No shoes
No proper clothes
No proper home
Living in primitive conditions with
No electricity
No radio
No cars
No roads
But
Lived close to nature that nourished me
With its wild fruits and roots
That I was finding climbing up the mountains
Or descending down onto the valley
Where I was running after butterflies and birds
My bear feet were kissing the ground
Winter and summer
Feeling the cold and the heat to the point as
To become one with the soil.
The animals were my friends, my companions:
Goats, sheep, pigs, cows, dogs, cats
But I had to be aware of the venomous snakes,
The cunning foxes the dangerous wolves.
The nights I was looking up to the clear sky
Admiring the brightness of the stars
So close to God for the first time myself I found
As I was caressing with my eyes the galaxy
That crossed the horizon from mountaintop to mountaintop.
The nights when there was a full moon I could see
As far as the eye could reach and I was happy although
My rebellious stomach could not let me sleep in peace.
Left the village just before my twelve birthday went
To Athens, the capital and later on to Canada where
I lived, worked, studied and taught.
Stayed there for twenty years,
Have traveled around the world:
Europe, Asia, America, Oceania
Then back to Greece where I live
Writing and taking care of my roof garden.
Now, retired at seventy-two, look at the world as it is
Compare it with the world of my childhood and
Have the impression that have lived for centuries
Since the world at present, as far as technology is concerned,
Is light of years ahead of the world of my village at that time
But at the same time the world today seems to have lost
Its innocence, part of its humanity and certainly its
Contact with nature and worst of all for most of us with
Its inner divine self!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
26 March 2017
* This is my 1500th poem. I would like to thank all of you who have
supported me with your comments, ideas and love for without you
it would have been impossible to keep writing for five years here at
the soup. Of course always are some who try to harm someone and
not to help but even these few people I thank!
May the Good Lord keep all of you healthy, inspired and happy!
THANK YOU!
Demetrios
Copyright © Demetrios Trifiatis | Year Posted 2017
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