The Return of the Expatriate
This work is inspired by the poem by Giorgos Seferis “The Return of the Exile” and belongs to the art collection of the Teloglion Arts Foundation.
The Return of the Expatriate
by Giorgos Seferis
– My old friend, what are you looking for?
an expatriate for years and you return
with images that you have nurtured
under foreign skies
far away from your own land.
– I am looking back at my old garden;
the trees come up to my waist
and the hills look like terraces
and yet as a child
I used to play on the grass
under the great shadows
and I used to run on slopes
for a long time out of breath.
– My old friend, rest
slowly you will get used to it;
we will climb together
on your familiar paths
we will rest together
under the canopy of plane trees
slowly your orchard and slopes will come to you.
– I look around my old house
with the tall windows
darkened by ivy
I look for the ancient pillar
that the sailor looked at.
How do you want me to enter this sheepfold?
the roofs reach my shoulders
and no matter how far I look
I see kneeling people
as if they are saying their prayer.
– My old friend, can’t you hear me?
little by little you will get used to
your house being what you see
and soon your friends and relatives
will knock on this door
sweetly to welcome you.
– Why is your voice distant?
Raise your head a little
so that I can understand what you are saying to me
as you speak, your stature
gets smaller and smaller
as if you are sinking into the ground.
– My old friend, think about it
slowly you will get used to
your nostalgia has created
a non-existent country with laws
outside the land and the people.
– I no longer hear a whisper
and my last friend sank
strange how they lower
all around every now and then
here pass and reap
thousands of scythe-bearing chariots.