The double glass sent back my first reflection;
unrecognisable, a lack with eyes
I’ve searched for answers on my mother’s breast,
a Hera with her spurting milk creating chaos
I’ve searched for meaning through shuttered words,
anthologies and lexicons, but none of it was found
I’ve searched for polis within myself,
because the Alexandrian poet said so, but still,
its iron gates were in-and-out locked down
I’ve searched for sun rays in Bible texts,
but darkness looms in doubtless quests,
the candle light again, violently, put out
I’ve searched for laughter on mountain peaks,
the Muses and the Titans refused to laugh out loud
I’ve searched for caves, the black abyss,
I swam in oceans I could drown;
“Behold!”
the great philosopher commands,
“Let’s start to go down!”
Elena Pitsilidou is based in Cyprus. Her poetry has won the 7th Undergraduate Poetry Competition 2020 of the University of Cyprus. Her writing has also appeared in print and online publications in the UK and the US, such as The Psychologist, Reader’s Digest, and We Said Go Travel.
The Cabinet of Heed 