Osip Emilevic Mandelstam

1891 - 1938 / Warsaw

The Greeks Planned For War

The Greeks planned for war
On the delightful island of Salamis.
From the harbor of Athens, you could see it
Seized by the enemy's hand.

And now our friends the islanders
Are fitting out our ships.
Earlier the English didn't love
The sweet European soil.

O, Europe, new Hellas,
Save the Acropolis and Pireus.
We do not need the island's gifts,
A forest of uninvited ships.
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