Haris Metaxa: Poetry, Texts and Art

Snow in the back garden

2012-02-15T06:36:00.000-08:00

Cannot go out

2012-02-15T06:33:00.000-08:00

sunset avenue

2012-02-15T06:30:00.001-08:00

Just out the door

2012-02-15T06:29:00.000-08:00

Spirits and ghosts

2012-02-08T02:49:00.001-08:00

It is not
that I am spirit-less
but ghosts
are more
persistant!

Obsolete

2012-02-08T02:43:00.000-08:00

Like an old engine
progress
has left behind.

Full moon again

2012-02-08T02:39:00.000-08:00

A white woolf
crying
in the snow.

tourner la page

2012-02-07T10:05:00.000-08:00

I never could imagine
how heavy a page
was going to be.

transformation or destruction?

2012-02-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

kill
the poisonous plant
so
a new,
ambivalent
flower
can grow
at its place.

killing is healing

Note to myself

2012-02-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Nessun sofisma
mi salverà.

(Plakias, 4/8/2011)

Un peu, beaucoup, a la folie...

2012-02-07T09:00:00.000-08:00

Is love a quantity feeling
or a quality one?

Can you love a bit,
a lot,
or been possessed by love?

Unfortunately,
petal divination
leaves us swimming alone
in deep waters
and experience
is unconclusive...

Il bacio della lingua / Language Kiss

2012-02-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

La lingua
è come un bacio
riconosciuto.

Language,
if not spoken for some time,
is like a long lost kiss
that comes alive again
when the unused words
start coming
out of your mouth.

(Isola d'Elba, 4/4/2010)

HANEZU

2012-02-07T06:28:00.000-08:00

mon coeur passe
dans toutes les nuances
de rouge

Here comes the sun / le coeur au chaud

2012-02-06T03:38:00.000-08:00

Heat is born
from an inner source,
we are all
the sun
of our own solar system.

Song in L

2012-02-03T02:18:00.000-08:00

Water
lilies
lingering
low...

Cretan Flower Garden

2012-01-19T13:16:00.001-08:00

You can always keep your head
above the water
as long as gardens, flowers,
sun and sea exist.

A series of videos about Philosophers and Artists mediating on Life

2012-01-10T04:00:00.000-08:00

Starting with Agnes Martin and continuing with the greatest minds of our time, what do we know about Life?

Listen and think!

A path to self-discovery combining first hand experience and sharing on thoughts, inspiration coming also from what others think.

Hannah Arendt & The Banality of Evil

2012-01-10T03:55:00.000-08:00

Yes, the evil remains a choice that you can choose not to make even if many choose to make it.

What is interesting is that you find the same central topic about the meaning and expression of evil not only in contemporary Ethics but also in literature, i.e in Shakespeare and in almost all Agatha Christie books, to cite just two of my favourite authors.

In "Death on the Nile" for instance, the central moral character of the whole plot, Jacqueline, is wondering from the start to the end of the book if she was right in letting evil invade her but she never stops accepting the fact that she always had the choice to act otherwise and she just did not take it.

I think that this choice is the main one for all of us to make in all moments of our lives.
Not for others, for ourselves.
With no responsabily and no dignity there is no life worth living.

I dedicate this both to my friends and to my enemies.

Hannah Arendt "The Dangers of Obedience"

2012-01-10T03:54:00.000-08:00

Lacan on Death, Faith

2012-01-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

The Anarchist Turn - Judith Butler [1]

2012-01-10T03:50:00.000-08:00

Michel Foucault

2012-01-10T03:48:00.000-08:00

Jacques Derrida On Love and Being

2012-01-10T03:45:00.000-08:00

Derrida: "What Comes Before The Question?"

2012-01-10T03:43:00.000-08:00

Jacques Derrida. Gilles Deleuze: On Forgiveness. 2004 1/11

2012-01-10T03:42:00.000-08:00

Francis Bacon - On Life, Death, and Gambling

2012-01-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

If you don't believe me, hear it from the horse's mouth...

Meditation on Francis Bacon's studio and art

2012-01-10T03:40:00.000-08:00

"Messy, destructive and wonderful..." the video's view of Bacon's life and work.
I am not so sure that Bacon's value resides in those words.
For me the important fact is his courage to explore a dimension of the spirit with original and compelling means, nightmares that become accepted and dramatically represented experiences of life and art.
His art is strong but this man has also a life, is a real warm blooded and passionate being, not an abstraction dreaming of some posthumous glory as so many of so called artists tend to do.

The messy and the distractive can or cannot be there.
The important thing is the carnal marriage between experience and expression.
Even the nightmare is an accident.
His work, Bacon's work, could be just as compelling even if it represented happiness and bliss.
Is not the topic nor the way he lived and worked, not even his sexuality that matters.
What matters is the profound intensity and honesty of the artistic transfer of experience in expression.
Wile staying alive and hot-blooded in the process...

Glorious solitude and pain.

John Cage: Music for Marcel Duchamp (1947)

2012-01-10T03:39:00.000-08:00

Duchamp interviews

2012-01-10T03:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, get rid of separation between art and life, have just life!
Still a vision, an utopia but a great one to have.
No vanity, unity.
No market, shared pleasure.

MARK ROTHKO

2012-01-10T03:34:00.000-08:00

Where colour is an oasis of infinite contemplation for the spirit.

What Mark Rothko thinks about modern art & people

2012-01-10T03:33:00.000-08:00

Wonderful words, listen to what he says, "...looking for those rare pockets of silence where we can root and grow."

So true! Then and now.

Interview with Agnes Martin (1997)

2012-01-10T03:30:00.000-08:00

The difference between inspiration and ideas, the first is a sort of cosmic opening beyond your control, the second, a determinist view your intellect imposes on the world.
The first appears to be an opening of the spirit, the second, a closing, the first has a universal meaning, the second just a personal one.

La poesia non cerca seguaci, cerca amanti.

2012-01-07T02:36:00.000-08:00

Slogan taken from a F.G Lorca poem to launch a marketing campaign to promote the publication of 60 volumes of poetry every Sunday with the Italian newspaper "Corriere della sera".

Kavafis, the greatest Greek poet and a big love of mine, was the second poet published and it was a great success!

So, "Poetry does not want followers. She wants lovers."

Federico is right!

Transparency

2012-01-04T12:25:00.000-08:00

Moving sand

2012-01-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Happy family

2012-01-02T10:45:00.001-08:00

My heart, summer in winter

2012-01-01T10:46:00.000-08:00

My heart
is like the calm surface
of the summer sea.

Asymmetry
in feeling
and season.

The bare necessities...

2012-01-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

2012, New Year, New Resolutions

2012-01-01T10:34:00.000-08:00

L'occasione perfetta
di disfarsi di vecchi ostacoli
che impediscono alla speranza
di passare.

Destruction is not a must!

2011-12-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

Things change
but they do not disappear,
if you've loved once
love changes with the seasons of life
but does not go away.

Love can become
your favourite pet
if you learn how to call it
by its name.

Love wins / Happy New Year

2011-12-29T10:10:00.001-08:00

Pain
has not destroyed
love.

Happy New Year
to all.

Hope

2011-12-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

Monologue echoes
where life should be.

At least I can see it!

Out with mom

2011-12-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

Take me away

2011-12-27T13:12:00.000-08:00

Ferries
find more easily their port
than people.

Lost again
in open sea.

Crossings / New Year Wish

2011-12-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

As those two lines intersect
I wish my life would be to yours,
future lover of mine.

Mountain profile

2011-12-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

The giant is sleeping peacefully,
clouds dance around him,
the seasons change
but he remains peacefull
and asleep.

Lighthouse with bicycle

2011-12-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

If Virginia Woolf
was in this lighthouse
she might have gone
to the fatal river stream
a bit later
than she actually did.

Peace and harmony
of the South.

Messy colours

2011-12-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

Rusty and dirty,
but harmonic
why can't I do the same?

Natural Composition

2011-12-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

Two portraits
of peace.

Peace one
and
peace two.

Stormy Weather

2011-12-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

feng shui wishes

2011-12-23T08:45:00.000-08:00

sea cafè view

2011-12-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

like a painting

2011-12-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

Cretan Winter Horizon

2011-12-23T08:39:00.001-08:00

Like the landscape
of my heart.

street music dans l'ile de st. louis

2011-12-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

parallel lines

2011-12-22T10:36:00.001-08:00

yellow on blue

2011-12-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

Corruption

2011-12-15T01:32:00.000-08:00

How to survive
in a world dominated
by greed and corruption?

How to abide
by your values
when you are systematically wronged and ignored?

Poetry is strong
but unjustice is everywhere.

Peace of mind! (or How to choose your books)

2011-12-09T02:33:00.000-08:00

If you cannot change it
try to accept it the way it is!

If you can't,
try using it
to fully enjoy
an Agatha Christie story.

X-mas on Roller Blades!

2011-12-09T02:29:00.000-08:00

I do not know why it is
I can just see December starting
and then all the sudden
we are in January!

Time is relative indeed
and even more so
during the running X-mas season...

Cyclical

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Emotions and thoughts
in mind
are like seasons
in nature:
they quietly evolve
and transform themselves
until they become
the opposite of what they were
when they first appeared.

This cyclical movement
frees us from morbidity
and obsession
and makes evolution possible.

Full speed ahead

2011-11-22T03:31:00.000-08:00

The age of boredom
is over,
full speed ahead
for stimulation,
action
and creation.

Sensual kiss

2011-11-22T03:17:00.000-08:00

Sunshine breaths on the geraniums
and they open up
like a mouth
opens up to a sensual kiss.

Autumn sensuality.

Light sun touches
on balcony flowers
and indoor hearts.

Just light

2011-11-13T10:09:00.001-08:00

There is no plenitude
or emptiness,
just light.

Autumn light.

Meditation on Loneliness

2011-11-12T08:38:00.001-08:00

You are never
more alone
than when you love
in frustration.

Sensual pleasure

2011-11-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Like a new-born
I discover
the invitation of fresh wind,
the gentle touch of an autumn leaf,
the tender caress of the rare sun
on my face,
on my body
and on my heart.

Simple, sensual present
is back
and future is possible
again.

The past talks

2011-11-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

An old extended family picture,
a child of five or six,
smiling happily among grimly faces,
totally unaware of the general old-fascioned look
and of her own,
looking the lenses in the eye
and expecting time to bring her happiness.

Cultural differences
made communication difficult later.

At the moment,
there was not other time or space
for her
and she was happy in this absolute present.

Short Poem (rien à voir avec l'amour!)

2011-11-05T03:21:00.000-07:00

Ça me fatigue
de te regarder.

Moving rainbow

2011-11-03T12:54:00.001-07:00

The time of dark
rainbow colours
is coming to an end,
yellow and orange flowers
seem to show the way
ahead...

Snake bite

2011-11-02T09:22:00.000-07:00

The snake moved his head
and bit me so fast
I did hardly notice.

The poison entered my system
and I have been really sick
since.

But now
I can see it coming out
little by little,
perspiration drops
falling off my skin.

Sweating life
and expelling poison.

And I had thought
that the snake really liked me!

Love Poker

2011-11-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Do not look
at your adversary's expression
or smiling eyes,
observe his actions.

Love is a gamble
but some are more gamblers
than others.

Half-words
and a cosy atmosphere
can just be smoke in the eyes.

When he finally shows you
his cards
it might be too late.

You've lost it all.
Borrow some old pants and get out.

Love Poker is a dangerous game
for naive dreamers...

Bad investment

2011-11-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

Financial or personal,
bad investments do not come only
in hedge-fund format.

Sometimes they hide
behind what it seems
just an honest smile.

Dishonest seller / Trapped by a rat

2011-11-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

"Come and buy my flat.
Good conditions,
long contract,
empty and available".

So I did buy it
only to find
a black rat
raising a big family
in the sunny flat
and smiling happily to himself.

He knew
that even if my investiment was substantial
I wouldn't stay.

I found out later
that the black rat
was an alter-ego
of the flat owner.

Trapped by a rat
with Shakespearian actor's skills!

And it all had looked so natural...

Fake

2011-10-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

Dressed up
in the clothes of love
when you were just a fugitive
from solitude.

Autumn portait / Lady in yellow

2011-10-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Stone lady
sitting quietly in a park,
turning her back on me,
rain drops falling on her long hair
and her gaze fixed
on the dancing yellow leaves.

Caricature Warning

2011-10-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

Open path
to light laughs
and smiles.

Or so it seemed to me then.

Apparences can be deceiving.

Alligator's promises and tears

2011-10-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Like twins
sharing one heart
I felt safe and loved
for almost three years.

Then one day
you told me
we were not really twins
and you sliced our heart in two.

How can I live
with half a heart?

Maybe it will grow back
like an alligator's tail.

Death Politics

2011-10-24T01:35:00.000-07:00

Sweet smiles,
tender words,
and kind actions,
a mask to hide
your fear of solitude
behind this show
of kindness and care.

"Nothing personal,
dear,
I just need to be kind
to somebody,
anybody;
I cannot face solitude
so I face one person
after another,
progressing in my desert
alone
but smiling
to my victim".

Night to Night and Words to Silence

2011-10-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

Night when I went out to work this morning,
night when I walked back this evening.

Words hysterics in the middle
and nostalgic dreams of silence.

Silence dropping on me,
followed by the rain
for few precious moments.

Refreshed by both.

Tomorrow,
a new earthquake of words to come.

Open sky

2011-10-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

It is raining outside
but the sun is shining again
on me.

Nobody's shadow
falls on my face.

Autumn sonnata

2011-09-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

Golden leaves
animated by transversal sunrays,
people like sheep
grazing in green pastures underneath,
a fleeting golden life
under a rain of leaves.

Love won't protect you

2011-09-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

Love won't protect you
but why wanting so visceraly
to believe
that it can?

Shadow of a life
where life should be.

Unburden yourself of love
and life can be joyfull
and secure again.

The question is how to do it
and nodody can answer it
at your place.

Find the right distance.
Forget love fantasies
and look at your own escape techniques
that blurr reality
and keep you prisoner
of your own mistakes.

The self and its illusions
can be a bigger enemy
than other people.

Interior Mosque Cordoba

2011-09-14T04:09:00.000-07:00

Two civilisations clush
and the result
is disorder and fear
where beauty, respect and order
should be.

Invisible

2011-09-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

All of the sudden
selfisness
takes up the whole space
and nobody else exists.

Vulgarity
and negligence.

Outside beauty, Cordoba mosque

2011-09-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

Colours and Shapes and Graphic Disorder in Sevilla

2011-09-10T14:24:00.000-07:00

Everything's for sale,
good thing tourists exist
in periods of crisis!

Horse-driven Tour

2011-09-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

The horse's name was Felipe
and his contemplative resignation
was balancing his driver's greed.

Colours in Sevilla

2011-09-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

Patio Charme

2011-09-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

43°C in the shade
at 6.30pm early September,
too hot to stroll in town,
too far from the patio's shade.

Tourism is eternal exile,
it must correspond to a disaffection
of belonging....

Cueva restaurant in St Cruz

2011-09-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Lovely food,
delicate and light for once
while watching tourists pass
like ants on red sand.

Heat Architecture in Sevilla

2011-09-10T11:31:00.001-07:00

Nice installations
for sharing poetry
or art.

Dave and Liz, the soul of the place!

2011-09-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

Cactus Meditation

2011-09-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Little survives in the desert
but cactus does
and exhibit itself
like a richly dressed King
among its naked subjects.

In the shade of a Palm Tree

2011-09-09T14:42:00.000-07:00

Only the harem was missing!

A garden in the desert

2011-09-09T14:35:00.001-07:00

Piscine bliss

2011-09-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Dolce Far Niente!

2011-09-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately,
it did not last long!

Mexico in Almeria

2011-09-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Liz and Dave's Paradise

2011-09-09T13:54:00.000-07:00

Paella in Costa Tropical

2011-09-09T13:43:00.000-07:00