The 1950s

That decade

Was very important.

We carried great hope,

Without having any worries.

The worries belonged to our parents —

Though we never knew it.

They did whatever had to be done

With only what remained to them.

We did not have much money,

And we did not need it.

Whoever had a little bread

Shared it with everyone.

We played skrumbousta in the streets,

With stones and broken slabs;

In the fields we gathered sticks —

We called that game klentza.

School opened with the rains,

And care began again:

Long woollen socks,

Shoes with chains.

Life was peaceful,

The days endless.

We loved it dearly —

Without bombs and without bullets.

Finishing primary school,

Free like birds,

With celebration, song, and joy

We forgot the painful past.

We listened to new songs —

Of Stelios and Chiotis.

We ate bread and a little cheese,

But on the dance floor we were first.

Weddings and engagements in the village

We heard about every day;

One or two couples even eloped,

Secretly from the in-laws.

Friends here, friends there,

Evening serenades at night,

Standing beneath the eaves in the rain

So the girls could listen.

We all worked hard,

Going to ourinditsa (day labor);

Fields of our own and rented land,

And evening walks afterwards.

The years passed beautifully,

Yet as we grew older

We knew they would not last forever —

We began searching for our future.

Some left for Canada,

Others for Australia;

Some found work there,

Others in Germany.

Families departed —

Boys and girls alike.

Marriages were arranged

So they could leave for foreign lands.

Yet none of us believed

We would remain there;

The dream was only to go

For a single moon or two.

And our little village

Began to ache again,

But our hearts for it

Will beat until the very end.