In praise of the sea: a prose-poem (June)
In this Newsletter
Poem of the month (this month the poem of the month is a prose-poem)
Encomium of the Sea (opening)
By Kostas Karyotakis (1896–1928)
Image of the month
Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907)
Anchored Boats (1895)
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Athens
Encomium of the Sea (opening)
By Kostas Karyotakis (1896–1928)
I.
The sea is my only love, because it has the countenance of perfection, and its name is an exclamation.
I remember not its first encounter. I must have been rolling down from a mountaintop, carrying armfuls of flowers. When still a child, I was bringing in my mind the pulse of its rippling. Resting on the beach, I was travelling with the boats that were passing. A world was being born around me. The winds were touching my hair. Bright was the day, on my face and on the pebbles. All was welcome to me: the sun, the white clouds, and the distant roar of the sea.
But the sea knew, and started its song, the song that binds and consoles. (…)
Konstantinos Volanakis (1837–1907)
Anchored Boats (1895)
Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Athens
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