Paulos Ioannou is the author of four full-length poetry collections written in Greek and three full-length published in English.
His Greek poetry is greatly influenced by the tragic events in Cyprus and the inter-communal strife between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Paulos Ioannou lives in Toronto, Canada.
Helen of Sparta came into my life
deliberately in the thick of night
wearing just a white chiton
enfolding her ethereal beauty
seeking a little warmth,
a little love as we were ready
to set sail for our beloved Troy.
After the ten year war
she was forcefully
taken back to her husband
to cold and sterile Sparta.
On leaving she vowed
to come back to me.
“No” I said I do not want
another war another destruction
because of a woman
no matter how beautiful,
no matter how seductive.
“Silly” she said “the war, the destruction
was not about me.
Wars are never fought over women
no matter how beautiful,
no matter how seductive.
It’s always about plunder, power and glory”.
ZEUS
Zeus had a lot of love affairs.
He made love to all beautiful women
he fancied and along the way
sired a few sons and daughters
expanding the godlike gene pool.
I miss Zeus he was so real, so human.
This peripatetic scoundrel of a god
loved women with passion
and he did not give a damn about
hamartia or sin
for he proclaimed by his actions
that there is not such a thing
when it comes to love.
Poetry in this post: © Paulos Ioannou
Published with the permission of Paulos Ioannou