THE MAGNIFICENT FALL

He has no other choice
The tree is blurred
And he can see no past
His children will be reared by sun and rain
To keep on gnawing hazelnuts is vain
He won’t miss much eating the flesh
The unripe almond’s bitter taste
Out of sheer pride the squirrel
Falls into the serpent’s mouth

(Translated by Ioanna Tachmintzis, Greek Letters, a journal of Modern Greek literature in translation, 16, 2003-4)