Responses to American Poetry

The aim of this online space is to host the research work of university students or young scholars as this emerges from larger projects focusing on the American poetry scene. The objective of this initiative is to bring this kind of research activity to the attention of the general public in an attempt to further promote the exchange of ideas with regard to the process of reading, understanding and appreciating poetry writing.

Tatiani Rapatzikou 
(Associate Professor, School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece; Advisor and initiative co-ordinator trapatz@enl.auth.gr)

POLYXENI RISTANI

"Oleander" ή "Πικροδάφνη"

Laurel rises from my palm,
and digs its thorns in the clouds.
It detests the ether so much,
as much as my skin longs for yours. 

Loved flesh, now wrinkled, loved flesh,
Can you run like you used to?
How did the wreath pierce my forehead?
Since when were the dishonored ever rewarded?

Wrinkled flesh, why didn't you listen?
Disobedience brings distortion
Disobedience brings interest
and my ruined, wrinkled skin thinks it's loved, again. 

Now you see shrines reflected in my eyes
But behind my sockets, they carry ruins-
Pieces and creases of wrinkled flesh.
You wish for the truth, but you dress me as an oracle.

Lies are bodies, they're olives and flowers
Hope for them to never speak and paint your own,
If I speak, words will conquer the fields - unknown.
Don't let them wrinkle, don't crease that flesh.

If you're unlucky, you will feel the wrinkled fresh.
Skin the nymph and kill the past,
Kill the skin and call for drought.
When my flesh remembers, it's always so bitter.

Polyxeni Ristani is a third-year student at the School of English, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. Her primary academic interests lie in examining cultural exchanges as they are reflected in different texts and modern forms of literary and artistic expression. In the future, she hopes to further explore the academic field of contemporary literary translation.

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