My Dear Readers,
In everyone’s life there are unforgettable moments filled with magic and light on which our names are engraved forever. I lived one of these moments when Vasiliki Petroudi sent me two of my poems she translated into Greek.
Vasiliki Petroudi lives in Greece. Greece is the land where the ancients took every characteristic of the human soul and intellect and made it into a god. A land where we are not assisting to a simple typonomy of name-place. We are assisting to an associative relationship between us and the projection of us into gods; a projection that for the ancients constituted reality. They embedded it into their daily lives; into weddings and funerals, into the cooking of the meals and into mathematical equations.
Every look at the Parthenon transforms the group image of gods into individual psychology. Our beginning and our end are born at the intersection of the Greek interpretations of notions such as eros, beauty, power, and introspection. Look into a mirror and you will see Greece even if you’ve never visited it.
My favorite novelist – Lawrence Durrell – once wrote:
Other countries may offer you discoveries in manners or lore or landscape; Greece offers you something harder—the discovery of yourself.
Vasiliki Petroudi is a wonderful Greek poet who, among other things, translates poetry from English into Greek. She is working on an incredible project that Literary Revelations will present in June. Until then you can read more about Vasiliki HERE.
I am humbled beyond words that Vasiliki translated two of my English poems into Greek. These translations are part of the project she is working on.
Vasiliki, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Below you can find my English poems and Vasiliki’s translations.
Samos, perhaps Crete by Gabriela Marie Milton
[included in Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings, Vita Brevis Press, 2020]
on the barren shore
you play your mandolin
I conjugate “to leave” in the voice of trees
the air reverberates expressions of old gods
the space changes its mind
maybe it is Samos, perhaps it is just Crete
traces of death, glimpses of the future
your thoughts are cut in marble
scratches turn to yellow
delineations, conquerors of islands
the shore melts in the waters
your eyes tell prophesies
the time changes its mind
perhaps it was just Samos, maybe it was Crete
the dying mandolin, the smell of ripened olives
an unmade wooden bed
solemnity, delirium
the names of I,
You
We
The Easter of Roses by Gabriela Marie Milton
[included in Women: Splendor and Sorrow I: Love Poems and Poetic Prose, Vita Brevis Press, 2021]
my love
you know that spring will come
peaches will grow on one side of the moon
injured lambs will scream on the other
taste of strawberries
my hair freshly cut
possessed by new ghosts will look for each other
steps on the asphalt heard from cafes
the baptism of rain and thin yellow candles
a verse from Seferis hangs on your lips
the Easter of Roses with its cold morning showers
never to sin your hands nailed in white marble
the rode of your anchor
my love
it’s spring
it’s me
free your hands from the marble
Traslations by Vasiliki Petroudi

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:
Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (ed.), Literary Revelations, 2023
Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (ed.), Experiments in Fiction, 2022.
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow :I Love Poems and Poetic Prose, Vita Brevis Press, 2021.
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings, Vita Brevis Press, 2020
Oh, my god!!!! that’s a great honour dear Gabriela 🤍 thank you so so much
My pleasure hon and thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your day and I will be in touch.
xoxo
Wonderful!
Thank you so much!
So cool. How wonderful, Gabriela.
Thank you so much Tim. it’s cool and it means a lot to me.
It’s amazing how beautiful the poems look in translation.❤️
Thank you so much Melissa. I am so glad you think so.
xoxo
Amazing.
Thank you so much for your support Andrew. I hope you are well.
Beautiful poems, Gabriela, and what an honor to have them translated into Greek, into any language! Well deserved, my friend.
Thank you so much dearest Diana. I am glad you enjoyed the poems. Sending love ❤️
Congratulations
Thank you from the bottom of my heart 🙏🌹
Congratulations dear Gabriela 🙂
Thank you so much hon.
xoxo
Gabriella, thank you for sharing your thoughts on ancient Greek history and culture and their continuing influence.
Congratulations on the publication of two of your lovely poems. I particularly enjoyed “Samos, Perhaps Crete.” <3
My dearest Cheryl, thank you so much for your kind words and for reading. I am really glad you enjoyed the poems and deeply grateful for your support. I hope everything is well with you. Sending love ❤️
💗💗
🙏❤️❤️
Quel joli duo
💌
Merci infiniment Myriam.
xoxo
Absolutely wonderful, congratulations dearest Gabriela!! ❤️🌹❤️🌹❤️😘🥰🤗
Thank you so much sweet Ely 🙏🌺🌹
You are most welcome!! 🥰🙏❤️🌹❤️🌹
🌹🌹🌹
WELL DONE AND CONGRATULATIONS!
Thank you Jonathan. That is so kind of you to say.
SO GIFTED OF YOU TO WRITE! 😀
Thank you again. I am humbled by your comment.
JUST KEEP WRITING—-DON’T LET ALL THE PRAISE GO TO YOUR HEAD (LIKE I HAVE IN THE PAST). :))
Jonathan, I can assure you that is something that will never happen.
JUST KIDDING—TRYING TO! ENJOY YOUR HONORS, BUT KEEP GOING/GROWING, EVEN AS YOU ARE!
I am trying to 🙂
HANG IN THERE AND SMILE!
🙂
😀
You write so beautifully 💕💕💕
Thank you so much hon. You brightened my day.
xoxo
Such beautifully crafted poems! <3 Love them so much!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
How absolutely wonderful, Gab! ❤️🌷
Thank you my dearest Punam. I hope you are ok.
Hon, I left several comments on your poetry but I think they may be in your spam folder. I just want you to know that I do not ignore your beautiful writing. Sending love.
xoxo
You are so welcome, my dear. I am fine, thank you.
Gab, I believe you, hon. I know you are not the kind to ignore anyone. It touches me that you find time to visit and read despite your busy schedule.
I have been very erratic in posting these last few months because of things beyond my control. Though I did manage to post everyday in April, I hardly had time to read.
Do forgive me for not reading as regularly, I hope to rectify it soon.
Sending loads of love to my loveliest friend. ❤️❤️🌷
Hon, you do not have anything to apologize about. I hope you are well. I love you with all my heart. Read when you can. Take care of you.
I am so glad we got a chance to talk a bit. I am here for you. I want you to know that 🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️
My dear Gabriela, I love both your poems and the translations are excellent! xoxo
Thank you so much my dearest Marina. Very grateful for your support and indeed so grateful to Vasiliki. Sending huge hugs 🤗
My pleasure, my dear Gabriela! 😘❤️
🌹🌹🌹
💗🌸
Oh my goodness Gabriela, how incredibly AWESOME my friend. What an honor! Congratulations! 👏🏼🤩👏🏼 I know you are beaming all over!
Kim, thank you so much my dear. I am glad you read and as always I very grateful for your support. Sending huge hugs 🤗🌹❤️
You are welcome Gabriela. Continue to soar my friend! 🦋🦅🦋
Thank you Kim. Same to you ❤️🤗❤️
Such beautiful poems…many congratulations, dearest Gabriela…that these beauties are available in Greek as well 🔥✨💟💫
Thank you so much my dearest Navin. Very grateful for your support🙏🌹❤️
You’re welcome, dearest Gabriela ✨❤️💫
🙏🌺🌹
Congratulations, Gabriela! What an honor!!
Thank you so much Liz 🙏🌹🌺
You’re welcome, Gabriela.
xoxo
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Liz 🙏🌹🌹🌹
You’re welcome, Gabriela.
🌹🌹🌹
It’s wonderful to see your work to be read by other language speakers through her translation. Good on you both 👍👍
Thank you so much dearest Cassa. You are a gem ❤️❤️
Such an exciting and gorgeous reading experience! 👏🏻
Michele, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means the world to me you think so 🙏🌹🌺❤️
You are very welcome, lovely lady. 💗 A delightful and rich post!
Thank you again Michele. I hope your day is as beautiful as your soul. Sending love.
🙏🏻💗💐
xoxo
These are now classics in the true sense! I adore you, Gabriela! 🤎
Thank you Nancy. You are a gem! Sending lots of love.
xoxo
🤎
🌹🌹🌹
Such beauty in these words. I absolutely love your second poem , transporting and mesmerizing poetry 🤩❤️
Hi jay, I am humbled by your words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you are well.
Both such amazing talents!
Thank you so much!
How gorgeous and inspiring to see these soulful words transcribed into Greek! <3
Thank you so much dearest Layla 🌹🌹🌹
What gifts of the heart by a talented writer. Vasiliki did justice to your exquisite poetry Gabriela. You must be so proud and thrilled. Congratulations to her talent and gifts.. such mutual admiration shared which is the touching part!
💗👏💗
Thank you so much for your beautiful comment Cindy. I hope Vasiliki reads it 🌺🌹❤️
Nice
Thank you.
That’s amazing, congratulations Gabriela! ❤️
Thank you dearest Katerine 🙏🌸🌺❤️
Ahhh, the meanderings of the heart and the intellect conjoined blissfully. I love both of these poems, Gabriela. 🌹🌺❤️🌼
Thank you so much Jeff. Sending big hugs 🤗 ❤️🌺🌹
Ah, Gabriela, another wonderful poem of yours translated beautifully in Greek! Well done, Vasiliki!
🙏😘
Marina dearest 🙏🌸🌺❤️🌹
Two very lovely poems, Gabriela! Congratulations on their translation into Greek! 🙂
Thank you so much dearest Cheryl 🌹🌹🌹