My one and only Cretan legend
Made the life he lived a belter.
As the amalgamator of the family tether
His hands were always clung to the lever
Keeping everyone together.
From the early years of his life
He braved enemies nationwide.
With his forebear by his side
He was told to bolt with pride
But plunge into battles lionhearted
Undismayed by the loss of his life.
He never kept his tricks up his sleeves
He shared his wisdom with his kids
Enlightening with patience the adrift.
Though at times, distant from his world
He bore no malice for any of them
Even when they fought and yelled
Lost in his obliviousness he tholed, reticent.
But I will not be the judge of his fate
Only the writer for the bounty he so generously gave
And became the benefactor of our age.
My one and only Cretan legend
One morning fledged and burnt his heathers
And his Cretan friend started to remember:
‘‘He had eyes full of life
Hands that caught and broke stones and ties
His mind like a sharped sword
Making money even in storms
He did it all alone.
To him I owe my affinity for the world
To him I owe the pleasures I will never forget’’.
Many thanked him for his service
‘‘The Cretan who redeemed the menace’’
‘‘The one who let the thieves run away’’.
In the Constabulary he wore proudly his cape.
In his uniform he defended his country\'s name.
But his weapons always had the same place.
He never dominated with threats
But he spoke of kind words.
He was the ruler
But never the punishment doer.
So, his name was engraved on the Postman Park
In that wall his august character left its mark
Commemorating the soldier who fell last.
In the days of yore,
He was a merchant who sold goods across the world.
Like the good businessman he was
His dealings were always above board
And made a fortune like no one before.
But he never kept all this wealth to himself
He built houses for his family and friends.
My one and only Cretan legend
Endowed everyone with his presence
For even in his apogee
He was the father figure of the church’s priest
Availing the church in all of its needs.
‘‘One of a kind man’’ ,everyone could admit.
My one and only Cretan legend
Always tried to make life better
Singing mellifluously for his wellness
And welcoming all of us to life’s fairness.
On his face he always had a beam
No one could make those wrinkles leave
Etched and carved ’til his last minutes
Signalled a life imbued with laughter and bliss,
Wassailing ,festivities and sounds of folk melodies.
And even after years of being overseas
He never forgot his homeland\'s villages.
He always visited bearing gifts
For his Cretan boys were his pride and joy.
With them he drank wine ’til the morning
Treating those who were part of the celebration’s adorning.
Yet at his ceremony none of them came
And I condemn their pitiful claims
For in his bliss, they all stayed.
They visited and enjoyed his array.
They never looked him in his eyes,
They only looked at their prize.
He did it all for the sake of love.
Sacrificing most of times
His dignity and his pride
On the altar of their lies.
On his deathbed they vanished.
No one stayed to pay their last respects
To the Cretan legend that was reaching depths
To the one and only who visited everyone in their last day.
No one came
To solace and pray
For a friend that was in ailing pain
For they were weary of the illness
that had enshrouded his brain
And was leeching off his last trace.
Only three requited his love
His wife, his daughter and his son,
Stayed behind and never gave up.
Devoted their life and time
To protect and prolong his refulgent light.
For even when he was pacing to his evanescent prime
They never left his side.
Even when they were the ones falling apart
When no one appreciated their deeds in his behalf
They still gave readily their heart.
But I will forever admire the sacrifices they made
I will forever know who ameliorated his pain
And beyond a shadow of a doubt
Though few words he usually mouthed
He saw their struggles and plight
Prayed for them and left with a smile.
His untrammelled visits to people he loved
Made him the loyal person he always was.
So even in his darkest holes
He saw visions of the yore
His gone brother he so longed
Killed unfairly even before war
His beloved father from whom he was taught
To fight every battle, he comes across.
They have now all reconnected, I\'m sure.
But even when war conquered his mind
Sickness engulfed him in fires and lies
Kindness and courage never left his eyes.
Even when he was lost in the wild
Shrieking like a bad-tempered child
He thanked and prayed to God
And never forgot to keep his fingers crossed.
But in my mind, I\'m still stuck
Stuck in memory lane
That is a price I’m willing to pay
To keep on evermore alive his name
To remember our summers
at the house by the hill
By the mountains and by the sea
To remember him in the branches and in the trees
In the forests and in the breeze
In the chestnuts and in the cliffs
In the marked streets he walked in.
To remember him as he is.
To remember him as long as I live.
Before he departed for evermore
We gathered and prayed for his soul
And in these holy seconds
We whispered in his feathers
What we all felt but no one said
‘‘You are the best Cretan legend’’
‘‘You will be remembered forever’’.
My Cretan legend is one and only
For his loss made us all so lonely.
His presence at the house by the sea
Is now quiet and still.
He seats at the sofa seat
Fixating his eyes on me
With a warm and wondering gaze
Arousing memories from when we were kids.
Back when he watched my every sweep
Afraid I will fall and hit.
But now I only feel his gentle breeze
Waving to fully grant what I wish
Frozen in time like our childhood dreams
Where we hoped our time together was for keeps.
We now all gaze grievously
at the top he used fo sit.
We close our eyes and we imagine
We imagine we are lost in the past.
When silence did not echo like sirens of the dark.
When I ran to his hug
And he embraced me with all his love.
When I ran to his hug
And I did not know of tomorrow land.
Days without him are a stone in my heart
Slowly closing my eyes
Leading me to my lingering demise.
He was my one and only Cretan legend.
And now, one of my greatest endeavours
Will be to keep his memory alive forever.
In my poems and my words
I will blaze his feats around the earth.
His legacy I will seal and protect
With every strength I have left.