Portrait of C. P. Cavafy: the Onassis Cultural Centre
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe by sea in 2015, sparking a crisis as countries struggled to cope with the influx. And, according to new figures published this week, the situation is only getting more desperate as the number of people seeking safety, shelter, and opportunity continues to rise ...
I don't know what can be done or what should be done about this. But, as a poet, I feel myself entitled to comment on events and express all kinds of thoughts and feelings which others might repudiate (though whether anyone should pay the slightest attention to the musings of a poet in a time of social and political upheaval is of course debatable).
And so here's a few lines of verse in relation to the above chaos of peoples; lines which rely upon (and play with) Cavafy's famous poem, Περιμένοντας τους Bαρβάρους.
I am grateful to Dr Maria Thanassa for providing me with a new translation of the original Greek text.
What are we waiting for gathered on the beach
and looking nervously out to sea?
Haven't you heard? The migrants are arriving today …
Why is nothing being done to stop them?
Why are the politicians arguing about quotas and not acting?
Because it’s already too late: what laws are they to pass now?
Besides, when the migrants arrive, they’ll legislate anew.
Why did Frau Merkel throw open the gates to Europe?
Who gave her the right to lecture others on their Christian duty?
I don’t know. But the migrants are arriving today
and we must receive them with smiles and open purses.
We must bestow universal rights upon them.
Why have so many news crews arrived on the scene,
with solemn reporters pushing cameras into the faces
of crying women and children?
Because the migrants are arriving today
and journalists have a moral obligation to bring us their story ...
Why are so many celebrities holding signs that read:
Refugees Welcome?
Because the migrants are arriving today
and bleeding hearts have never looked better
than when stitched onto designer sleeves ...
Why all of a sudden is there such restlessness and such confusion?
Why are the streets and the squares emptying so fast, people heading
home in horror?
Because darkness has fallen.
What shall become of us in a land occupied by immigrants?
We were told they'd provide a solution ...
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