Poetry Written for Moments That Matter.
Every poem is written personally, in Greek or English, for the person or moment you want remembered.
Written by hand, one commission at a time, in two languages and one voice.
Leonidas Burke, Greece.
A young poet writing between two traditions.
I am a young poet that has a dream to express the beauty of Greek and English poetry.
I am early in this craft and I say that plainly. What I have instead of decades is attention. Greek gives the work its music and its long memory, learned from summers of stone walls, olive shade and blue shutters facing the sea. English gives it clarity and intimacy. A commission is never taken from a template or a library of stock verses. It begins with questions, with listening, and with the particular details that make one person or one moment unlike any other.
Poems are written by hand first, then set carefully in type, so what arrives feels like a letter rather than a product. This is a small practice by design. Fewer commissions, more attention, and a finished piece that can be read aloud at a wedding, kept in a drawer, or framed and carried from house to house. Every poem written now is part of a long apprenticeship, and the people who commission them are part of it too.
No two commissions are alike, because no two people are. Each poem is written in one sitting, by one hand, for one reader.
How a Commission Comes to Life.
Five steps, none of them rushed. Most poems are finished within a week of the questions being answered.
The questions matter as much as the writing. They are where the poem finds its subject.
- 01
Request a Poem
Tell me the language, the recipient, and the occasion.
- 02
Answer Five Personal Questions
Five short questions that let me know who I am writing for.
- 03
Leonidas Writes Your Poem Personally
Written by hand, in Greek or English, never delegated.
- 04
Review
You read it first and I revise anything that does not sound like you.
- 05
Receive Your Finished Piece
Delivered as a finished, presentation ready poem.
Commission Your Poem.
What you receive is a poem written only for you. Not a card verse, not an arrangement of pleasant lines, but something built from the details you share: a name, a habit, a season, a room.
Each commission arrives as a finished piece, set in type and ready to be read aloud, framed, or folded into a letter. Greek or English, whichever the moment asks for.
Payment is handled after the five questions are answered, once the commission is confirmed by email.
Featured Poems.
Some of my most prized poem examples. Open an envelope to read the full piece.
Commission Pricing.
One price, either language. What you are paying for is time and attention rather than word count.
English Custom Poem
Written in English, shaped around the five answers you give. Metre, length, and form are chosen to suit the occasion rather than a fixed template.
Greek Custom Poem
Written in Greek, drawing on the rhythm and imagery of the tradition. Ideal for family occasions, remembrances, and anything meant to be read aloud.
Before you commission.
Most poems are finished within a week of the five questions being answered. If a date is fixed, say so in the form and it will be worked around.
Yes. A poem written in one language and carried into the other is treated as two commissions, since each version is written rather than translated word for word.
You read it before it is finished. Anything that does not sound like the person it was written for is revised until it does.
As a typeset digital file suitable for printing or framing. If you would like a handwritten copy, mention it in your answers.
After the five questions are answered and the commission is confirmed by email, never before.
Write to me.
If you are unsure whether a poem is right for the occasion, say hello first. I answer every message personally.