By Peter Bottéas

The place I started was
not the outside,
not the pathway,
not the door

It was the perch, 
the living,
the refuge,
the heights. 

It was the place
to observe the boats,
the sea,
the creases of the waves,
changing each instant

The place not readily entered
from without,
yet where light resides,
music lives,
and colours bloom

Where winds batter
and rains drive. 

Tranquility.

Home. 

March 17, 2019
A preliminary version of this poem was published on the Web site of Creative Spirit, Marblehead, Massachusetts, on March 31, 2019.
The poem was set to music by Kostas Rekleitis and published in a musical score by North Star Music (21st Century Art Song Series), 2025.

The poem was written in English. It was translated into Greek by the author and Vassiliki Rapti.

Απανεμιά

Εκεί που ξεκίνησα 
δεν ήταν
ούτε το αίθριο
ούτε το καλντερίμι 
ούτε η θύρα 

Ήταν
η κούρνια
το ξέφωτο
το απάγκιο
τα ύψη 

Από ’κει πάνω αγναντεύεις 
τις βάρκες,
της θάλασσας
τους κυματισμούς
ν’ αλλάζουν κάθε στιγμή 

Εκεί όπου
δύσβατο απέξω
το φως λουφάζει
η μουσική ζει
και τα χρώματα ανθούν 

Όπου
οι άνεμοι δέρνουν  
και οι καταιγίδες τσακίζουν.

Ηρεμία.

Απανεμιά.  

The Importance of Arts, Culture, The Creative Process, and how this project resonates with you: I see the arts — and poetry in particular — as a multifaceted means of expression that sometimes bypasses the linear, analytical mind and taps into something deeper, perhaps more primal, that might otherwise elude expression.

What was the inspiration for your creative work?
I’d left the dreary denseness of Boston, seeking air, light, water, and tranquility. I happened upon a perch by the sea on a tiny peninsula that leads to nowhere, yet which, in fact, has led to many places of heart and imagination. “Refuge” reflects my experience of that home, my existence in that little seaside hamlet, where I sit in the morning, high up, and contemplate the wee boats on the harbor, the seabirds, and the lapping waves.

Tell us something about the natural world that you love and don’t wish to lose. What are your thoughts on the kind of world we are leaving for the next generation? The air, the water, the rocky seashore that I see from my window, the unusual birds that sing in the wee hours of the morning, and pollinators that visit my garden are all in a fragile balance that can be disrupted so very easily, despite their resilience. I am chagrined by the plastics that make their way into the ocean, the pesticides sprayed needlessly on lawns in my little seaside community, imperiling bees and other wildlife, the wanton, thoughtless waste. I would like to see the Earth treated with kindness, delicacy, and honor for generations to come.

Photo credit: Peter Bottéas, 2021

Peter Bottéas is a translator, editor, poet, occasional voice-over artist, and psychotherapist. His translation of Vassiliki Rapti’s most recent collection of poetry, Bathed in Moonlight, was published by Čevená Barva Press in January 2023. He can be found perching in Marblehead, Massachusetts; Paris, France; or Elora, Ontario.

Vassiliki Rapti, PhD, is the author of the bilingual poetry collection Transitorium (Somerset Hall, 2015) and Bathed in Moonlight (Čevená Barva, 2023). She is Chair of the Ludics Seminar, Mahindra Humanities Center, Harvard University and the founding director of the collective of scholars and artists Citizen TALES Commons.