adulthood

legend has it

that in order to truly become

an adult,

you have to go to that sacred place

that you spent the summers

of your early years,

find a spot

that’s protected from the elements

and concealed from stranger’s eyes,

and draw with perfect white chalk

the simple figure of a child,

as only a child would.

then you can leave that place in peace,

safe in the knowledge,

that all your silly dreams,

your carelessness,

all the times you spoke

or acted without thinking,

are well behind you,

trapped inside that drawing.

and once you’ve done this

I really hope

our eyes never meet again.

______

adulthood by Dimitrios Kokkinos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

inside the arrow’s head

have you ever watched

one of these beautiful slow-motion videos

where the archer pulls the bow’s string to the position of maximum tension,

then releases it,

launching the arrow towards the target

and you get to see what normally escapes the eye:

the arrow flies down its path

bending, twisting, and turning convulsively,

looking almost desperate

to reach its goal.

clearly,

being “straight as an arrow,”

is much more common and humanly than people think it is.

______

inside the arrow’s head by Dimitrios Kokkinos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

I tried | προσπάθησα

I tried

I tried

I tried

I tried

I tried

I tried

I tried

I tried

I tried

to speak to you.

if only

if only

if only

if only

if only

if only

if only

if only

if only

you’d read my silence.

______

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

προσπάθησα

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να σου μιλήσω.

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

μακάρι

να ‘χες διαβάσει τη σιωπή μου.

______

I tried | προσπάθησα by Dimitrios Kokkinos is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License