I sing of fallen ancestors
I am the dog of the stars
with my eyes I look up
with my hands I celebrate the mud

Nikos Karouzos

Captain Yiannis 
was truly brave
helping lift
the country from the mud  

fighting the enemy
he burned souls
conquered lands
bled girls

he claimed his territories
as far as the eye could see
he founded a kingdom

he also bought Popaki
a fourteen-year-old girl
a flower that never came to bloom

he bore her nine children
two were lost before her
the nights screamed their names

The captain also served as mayor
he was held in high regard
when he died, he left them
all the gold in the world

Stavros, the youngest grandchild
saw his grandfather in a dream
shining atop a horse
the torch aflame
in the darkness, the underlings
dragged him by the feet

[Mania Meziti, 2024]