Far Beyond My Dreams..

                   ... the City Was

    Since I was very young, I fell in love with this city,​
    because the stories of my grandfather, the witty.
    But a transatlantic voyage seemed like a dream​
    coming and leaving as a violent stream ..

    When "New York- New York" was song 
                                                             [by Frank Sinatra, ​
    young people everywhere, from Athens to Sumatra,
    and from Tokyo to Cape Town,
    either wearing pants or gown,
    they were dreaming, the most famous of all cities,
    and were wishing someday to see it's infinite pretties.​

          Our tanker was constantly loaded with 
                                                                 [oil for transport....​

          Although New York is the largest 
                                                               [oil-importing port,
          our ship had never been there,
          ​and for me it was too unfair....​

          Ιn 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano* feared
                                                                      [Indian arrows,

          and this Florentine explorer anchored 
                                                                    [in the Narrows.*
​
          In 1984 Odisseas Heavilayias, I, anchored 
                                              [in the very same place...​

    I finished my work at a fast pace
    and pretending I did not hear the boss's cuss,
    in a few minutes I was on the bus...

    The City was far beyond my dreams,
    a dazzling bright set, a city that gleams....
​
    Wandering the crowded streets, I found myself 
                                                                   [on Broadway...

    Of the hundreds of illuminated advertising
                                                                       [in my way,

    I picked out one ,“The Phantom of the 
                                      [Opera”, although,

    the English language I did not know,
    but I wanted so bad to watch the show...

    ....αnd guess what.....   Finally I did it,
    and I was right. This musical was 
                 [actually an elevation of spirit.

The show exceeded all my expectations.
The audience rewarded this masterpiece 
                                 [with endless ovations.

For those who does not know, it broke all the 
                                                      [Broadway records

In Britain commented... even in the House of Lords.
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*  Giovanni da Verrazzano,  A Florentine explorer of North America, in the service of the King Francis I of France.

*The Narrows,  is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It has long been considered to be the maritime "gateway" to New York City and historically has been one of the most important entrances into the harbors of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
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* Extract from "The Broken Mooring Line", an experiential
poetic work // page c23 // e-mail: pmataragas@yahoo.com //
Texts and Narration: Odysseus Heavilayias - ROTTERDAM //
Language adjustments and text adaptation: Kellene G Safis - CHICAGO//
Digital adaptation and text editing: Cathy Rapakoulia Mataraga - PIRAEUS
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The Tales of a Greek Sailor