Humanity and the child
Our century was handcuffed.
Fortune tellers sell out vision for a few more oracles,
the arenas became virtual,
laughter was sold to the clown of habit,
and humanity is looking for a good shirt to look
beautiful.
Slaves dream.
The deposits of the ideals are money transferred
stacked behind arrogant, ambitious mirrors.
The Pontius Pilate forgot their hands in the sea,
and humanity wonders why it doesn’t fit in its own
shoes.
Hypocrisy redeemed the light of freedom,
The years, hunched, go by without rise in their gait,
and humanity looks out of the window at its life going
by.
A child hung his crib on the tank that burned his city,
playing next to death without fear.
A child the country, a child the earth, a child the
universe,
undressed the war.
And love smiled.
Now humanity can leave its home again
Martha Vaskandira
Translation: Elias Nassiopoulos
Η
ΑΝΘΡΩΠΟΤΗΤΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΟ ΠΑΙΔΙ (ποίηση)
Ο
αιώνας δέθηκε χειροπόδαρα.
Οι
μάντεις ξεπουλάνε το όραμα για λίγους χρησμούς παραπάνω.
Οι
αρένες έγιναν εικονικές πραγματικότητες.
Το
γέλιο πουλήθηκε στο παλιάτσο της συνήθειας.
Και
η ανθρωπότητα ψάχνει το καλό της πουκάμισο για να είναι όμορφη.
Οι
σκλάβοι ονειρεύονται.
Οι
καταθέσεις των ιδανικών μεταφέρονται με χρηματαποστολές.
Στοιβάζονται
πίσω από αλαζονικούς, φιλόδοξους καθρέφτες.
Οι
Πόντιοι Πιλάτοι ξέχασαν τα χέρια τους στη θάλασσα.
Κι
η ανθρωπότητα αναρωτιέται γιατί δε χωράει στα παπούτσια της.
Η
υποκρισία εξαγόρασε το φως της ελευθερίας.
Τα
χρόνια σκυφτά προχωρούν χωρίς ανατολή στο βάδισμά τους.
Κι
η ανθρωπότητα κοιτάζει απ’ το παράθυρο τη ζωή της.
Ένα
παιδί κρέμασε τη κούνια του στο τανκ που έκαψε τη πόλη του.
Παίζει
δίπλα απ’ το θάνατο χωρίς να φοβάται.
Ένα
παιδί όλη η χώρα, όλη η γη κι όλο το σύμπαν.
Ξεγύμνωσε
το πόλεμο.
Η
αγάπη χαμογέλασε.
Τώρα
η ανθρωπότητα μπορεί να βγει απ’ το σπίτι της.
Μάρθα
Βασκαντήρα
Η ΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΕΝΟΣ ΑΓΓΕΛΟΥ
(An antiwar
poem dedicated to all angels lost in vain)
Black birds
unfold their shrieks.
Warning of
solitude and death in a place where dawn is always dark.
Naked hands
wash death in the river.
So white they
are, so innocent...
Like bloomed
lillies in the river banks that leaned forward to kiss the dead bodies of the
Angels that doll its waters.
They spew
wars out in the seas of the silver bullet.
A journey
full of tears in the delta of hell.
Hawks spread their
wings.
Their shadow
buried love in the caves.
Swallowed
chilren’s laughter.
Mother stands
in the rain.
She is
holding the Spring flower.
Too soon, it
was picked.
Her eyes,
black oceans full of sunken worlds.
Her
three-year old boy, wiser from the pain and curse of its people, touched
eternity.
His words
like Bethleem stars that will never set.
Loud in her
ears, slowly, painfully, curve the mind and uproot the body.
The soul
kneels in front of their Holy gaze.
‘’Mama, when
I go up, I will tell everything to God’’.
The miracle
yealded.
Martha
Vaskandira
Translation: Dora Douva
Biography
Martha Vaskantira was born in 02/09/1977 in Greece, in the city of Patras. She studied
Philology and Philosophy at the University of Patras. She is involved in
theater and music. She is distantly related to the poet Miltiadis Malakasis.
She appeared in letters in the year 1996 with the publication of poems in
literary magazines. A total of ten of her books have been published. The poetry
collections: My Young Thoughts'' editions Publications About the Arts, ''Good
night'', editions ''Gavrielidis'', ''Apologismos'' editions ''P. Koulis'',
collective poetry work ''Writing Works'', Orionas publications, ''Troian
Horse'' and the theatrical-poetic monologues ''Peace'' from Kouros
publications. Four fairy tales, "Dahlia" and "The Ice Santa
Claus" from the publications "Koulis", which were dramatized in
Patras, "The Peach and the Fairy" and "My Best Friend" from
the publications " "Kouros". Her poems have also been dramatized
in performances by theater groups in Athens and Patras. She has been awarded in
theater, song and poetry competitions. She is a member of the International
Society of Greek Writers-Artists (D.E.E.L.), UNESCO of Greece, the Society of
Greek Writers (E.E.L.), the Greek Cypriot Cultural Group (E.P.O.K.) as well as
representative of the group in the city of Patras, of the "Organization of
Young Artists" and special secretary of the "Society of Writers of
Southwest Greece". She has written and directed three plays.
In
September 2022, she won first prize for writing the theatrical monologue
"Peace and the Child" at the International Peace Cultural Olympiad
held in Delphi.
In the
performance "The children of Greece" which was presented in many
cities of Greece and concerns the life and work of the great creators and
artists, Mimi Traiforou-Sofias Vembo, the one-act play by Martha Vaskantira
entitled "The child and the peace''. The direction is by Vassilis
Traiforos and Penelope Chalkia. The monologue was performed by Penelope Halkia.
In
December 2022, the theater department of the Polyphonic Choir of Patras,
directed by Mrs. Athena Kallimani, who dramatized and directed the fairy tale
of "Santa Claus of Ice", will stage it in a performance at the
Pammikrasiatiko theater in Patras.
The Soroptimist women's association
"Danielis" included her own work in a related event, which it held
for the women Logotechnides of Patras.
Some of her poems have been translated into
English, Spanish and Turkish.
Her poems are included in Poetry anthologies
and Cultural Magazines in several countries abroad.
In 2022, the newspaper "Peloponnisos" proposed her to be a candidate for the persons of the year 2022.