Whenever You Stood Near The Window

by Yiannis Ritsos

Yannis Ritsos

Whenever you stood near the window, your brawny shoulder-blades
filled up the whole entranceway, the sea and the fishermen's boats

The house overflowed with your shadow, tall as an archangel,
and the bright bud of the evening-star sparkled up there in your ear.

Our window was the gateway for all the world, leading out
towards paradise, my dear night, where the stars were all in bloom.

As you stood there with your gaze fixed on the glimmering sunset,
you looked like a helmsman steering a ship, which was your own room.

ln the warm blue twilight of evening - ahoy, away -
you sailed me straight into the stillness of the milky way
.
But now this ship has foundered, its rudder has broken down,
and down in the depths of the ocean, I'm drifting all alone.





Last updated June 21, 2015