Haiku and Hiccups

'I grew up in a small village in southern Greece. We had no toilet, no TV, and often no water or electricity. We were so isolated that we learnt about John Lennon's death in 1984 - four years after the incident. There were also very few people around to talk to, and no girls to date. So, I fell in love with my surroundings. They became my friends and confidants. I spoke to them, and they spoke to me. From our large balconies I watched the seasons come and go in the changing hues of the landscape. The warm southerly winds from Africa told me that summer was on its way. The freezing north wind reminded me that I was alive. The spectacular lightning strikes and thunderclaps made me tremble. It was during these years that I realised I was just another speck of dust in the endless, unfathomable universe; a tiny spark in the dark, striving to reconcile my fleeting presence with the eternal majesty around me. That's what this collection is essentially about. Haiku and Hiccups speaks to all of us. My hope is that every person will find themselves in at least one of these poems. That they will feel as if it has been written specifically for them.'