Kon Calembakis has worked in various areas to acquire a living. They include: production worker in an abattoir, door-to-door sales, cab driving, operating a small retail business, property management, kitchen hand and cook. Currently, he is working as a direct courier for a small company. He would like to go overseas someday to the Bahamas and Canada.
Hot Moon
The moon is full and hot,
Her unhappy state
A perfect reflection
Of my own.
Mosquitoes seem everywhere
Noisy, exploratory,
Fuelling my cursing and turning.
I sweat profusely
My pillow and bed sheet wet,
The taste of salt
Strong in my mouth.
I wonder despairingly
Of the cool change forecast.
It appears more and more
A meteorological hoax.
From Friendly Street No. 17
The Best Passport
We come to the border
After countless hours
Of careful driving
Through snow-laden country.
I am shocked
By what I see:
A border choked
With cars and caravans.
I tell Jake
We will be late
For the rendezvous
With two prominent women.
He says no
Since we have
The best passport
To bypass traffic.
Jake produces
From the boot
Four bottles of whiskey
And shows them affectionately
To the freezing official.
The official smiles broadly
Accepts the bottles
Hugs us fiercely
And says
We may pass
Without delay.
At the other end
Of the border
There is no traffic
And I am glad
For I’d hate to lose
Four more bottles.
Soon we are driving
In a new country
Plenty of time
To meet the ladies.
From Friendly Street No. 19
Tzebetico
Past midnight
Drunk young man
Twisting
Turning
On the pavement
Slowly trying
To collect spilled cigarettes.
I smile
His task hopeless
In a crude way
I see dance motions
Of a Greek Tzebetico.
I join him
In dance
Laughing
Only proper
He has company.
He enjoys
My presence
Offers a cigarette
Lighter
Calling me
His greatest friend.
Bouzoukis
A crowded plaza
Enter my mind
While smoking slowly
His strong cigarette.
I finish dancing
Feel refreshed
Find him
Lying on the pavement
Snoring like a bear.
I chuckle
Time
to call the police.
From Beating Time in a Gothic Space: Friendly Street No. 23