ELENA ANGELOPOULOU

 

 

The Passenger

 

Fate always stands in front of me

like a stranger on a bus.

It doesn’t introduce itself.

It only holds silence

folded on its knees.

Sometimes I think

I can recognize it

in a frustration,

in a “later” that never came,

in a word that was unspoken.

But fate pretends to look elsewhere,

as if it has nothing to do

with my meaningless postponements.

Fate isn’t larger than life.

It fits inside details,

in the wrong button I pressed,

in a gaze I cast down,

in the absence I’m used to.

And when it gets off at the bus-stop

—always before I do—

it leaves behind it

a subtle shift

without asking.

Then I understand

that it doesn’t lead me,

but it simply insists

on standing in front of me.

 

Not A Coincidence

 

We met without asking for it,

at a turn in the road of fate.

You turned a little too late

and I stayed a little longer than I should have.

And that was enough

for the sky to light up.

There was no sign,

no promise written anywhere,

only a subtle shift in the world

in the same direction.

Since then

our paths have been crossed,

they shifted their shape

they shifted their name.

And if we ever thought

that it was a coincidence,

now we know well

that it was time itself insisting

—on bringing us back,

again and again,

in the same place.

 

ELENA ANGELOPOULOU

 

ELENA ANGELOPOULOU was born in Frankfurt, Germany, and grew up between Germany and Northern Evia, Greece. She holds a degree in Educational Sciences from the University of the Aegean and an M.Ed. in Innovative Technologies and Specific Learning Difficulties from the University of West Attica. She is currently completing a Master’s degree in Creative Writing at the University of Western Macedonia. She is an experienced educator and currently serves as a public-school principal in Athens. Alongside her educational work, she is actively engaged in literature, participating in literary events, anthologies, and festivals. She has published six children’s books in Greece, with two poetry collections forthcoming. Her writing has received distinctions in national literary competitions, including awards from the Panhellenic Union of Writers and the Society of Greek Writers. She is a member of the Panhellenic Union of Writers.