The frightened dove of Tehran
goes elsewhere to weave its nest,
as dreadful metallic birds
have shattered nests and broken eggs.
They fled far away, to distant lands,
as war keeps bringing bombs.
Astonished and hungry people
watch the swarm of evil omens passing by.
Like serpents, the explosives crawl and bite,
poisoning our lives with venom.
They are drawn by money and greed;
wisdom grows scarce while technology increases.
And when the curtain falls,
only darkness and devastation remain.
Vain are the efforts to gather material wealth;
energy moves everything in the universe.
Spirit is sought everywhere,
yet here it exists in abundance and remains neglected.
Only the Parthenon glorified Pericles,
while petty politics reign in Greece.
All speak of peace,
yet in the end they unleash wars.
War profiteers sell their wares dearly,
and peoples march like herds to the slaughterhouse.
They proclaim peace,
yet bring fiercer war upon us.
The Eagle fears the Dragon’s trap;
the “Great One,” full of ignorance, says:
“I know nothing.”
And someday the hourglass of wealth runs dry.
And the god of the Easterner
holds sword, blade, and dynamite,
ready to drench humanity in blood
so that theocracy may prevail and be glorified.
They promise him virgins and paradise,
yet lead him to the grave.
“You shall eat pilaf after death,”
they tell him without fear.
A rotten affair, reeking of madness;
only for freedom is it worthy to die.
The dove of peace drinks a little water
from the lily of purity and grace,
and now in Greece it builds its nest.
Zeus ordained contests instead of wars,
to abolish the games of battle.
Hospitable is the people of Athena and Hermes,
yet if the ecosystem is not protected, it shall collapse.
This land, the “navel of the Earth,”
with sun, sea, and gods,
echoes culture and peace.
Life is a martyrdom;
wealth gives birth to temptation, the new criterion.
And now a single trembling ray of light remains:
will there be peace, or war once more?
Humanity has lost its sleep and serenity.
Will the little child eat bread,
or remain hungry?
Will the dove of peace return,
or does a new storm frighten it before its journey begins?
Before the ravenous eagle
and the bloodthirsty hawk descend upon it?
“War is the father of all,”
war in the universe, war upon the Earth.
At night, a storm; at dawn, splendid light.
Behind every war emerges change,
and afterward a new balance and harmony follows.
Yet humanity drags along its fate
and learns nothing.
The same things again and again:
high prices disturb us, everything lies in ashes,
and tomorrow perhaps love and flowers.
And the hourglass of the environment empties
and threatens mankind.
He forgets the problem
and stumbles through chaos.
Yet hope sustains him,
and he forgets what has passed;
two steps forward
and one backward he moves.
But if humanity attained a peaceful life,
it would advance faster in evolution.
It would explore the universe,
improve itself,
and with AI experience a golden age,
if only it used it wisely.
To escape misery,
to stand once more upon its feet,
and gaze at the stars.
To love nature completely
and lift life in both hands,
like another Prometheus.
Terrible is the torment of war,
shameful the betrayal of warlike Albion.
They burned, killed, plundered, and departed,
without paying a single drachma;
they stabbed us again through bankruptcy.
Who else? Germany.
Peace cannot exist without justice,
nor without a pure and noble soul.
Instead of hatred, deceit, and madness,
welcome be the dove of peace
and “Peace on Earth.”
(24 May 2029)
Amphiktyon – Lieutenant General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Writer – Member of the Society of Greek Writers