CABBIES OF ATHENS
Tag Archives: Greece
GREECE 2001
GREECE 2001
We take the boat back to Athens
cold and windy and a little rough
Dorsey lies down on the way
If she is Helen returned
she might again cause the launching
of a thousand ships
but she would not sail on one
I have an ouzo and man the bow
swells rising through my feet
feeling the eternity of the sea
When the islands are out of site
I still feel and could steer
by the shape of the winds
THE TOURIST
THE TOURIST
In Greece
I walk through ruins and museums
with a camera around my neck
The shutter inside me
clicking
CABBIES OF ATHENS
CABBIES OF ATHENS
Chaos pounds over dead civilizations
horns blare battle cries, fists shake the air
Taxi driver warriors slash and stab
and play pirate with the meter
And woe befall the coward fare
who doubts their courage and their skill
by any attempt to buckle up that belt
BELOW THE ACROPOLIS – MARCH 2000
BELOW THE ACROPOLIS – MARCH 2000
In the Agora
bright red flowers
from seeds older than Socrates or wisdom
Converse among the grasses
and look up
at the temple covered hill
GROWING YOUNGER – GREECE 2000 A.D.
GREECE 2000 A.D.
Standing in front of the statues of the wise
noting how very wise they were
To be born at a ripe old age
and grow younger every year
Socrates for instance
(469-399)
certainly got it right
being born at seventy
and working backwards
to that point
of light
IN GREECE
IN GREECE
In Greece
I remember and meet
myself everywhere
I am Socrates questioning
I am the athlete striving
the architect planning
the builder building, the potter shaping
the sculptor seeking, the warrior dying
and the poet pointing
In Greece
I am all men and all gods as well
and I remember
How many times in this life alone
I have pushed the rock endlessly uphill
Carried the world on my shoulders
Had my liver eaten by the savage bird
How many times
I have fallen in love with my own
reflection
Reached out for the sweet grapes and
sweet water
to find them moving always beyond my
grasp
Been forced to echo only what others
have said
Tied myself to the mast to resist the
siren’s call
Fought in a thousand wars
full out on the open field or sea
or hidden in the belly of a wooden horse
GREECE – INDEPENDENCE DAY 2000
GREECE – INDEPENDENCE DAY 2000
We stand in the sunlight of Athens
birthplace of democracy, philosophy
theatre and reason
Here man first learned true freedom
Created gods
in the image of his vices and his virtues
and learned to embrace and best them all
Stores in Athens close for the parade
people gather from miles around
For hours past the viewing stand
soldiers and sailors march in step
Overhead the jets and choppers
roar by in strict formation
Thirty deep and more
people push and flow and smile on cue
I search the marchers and the crowd
Looking for that one toga, one book
One independent mind
One ancient Greek
MOMMA IN MYKONOS
MOMMA IN MYKONOS
Marolina says, enjoy the room
my eighty two year old mother
lives on the first floor under your stairs
call on her if you need anything
Momma doesn’t understand our English
but most important that we understand
she could understand, but chooses not to
She also knows that her daughter
must rent the rooms above her head
but she will not look up
WIDOWS
WIDOWS
Greece is a land of widows
black dresses with brooms on empty stairs
This comes from ten thousand years of wars
Greece is a land of proud and arrogant men
This comes from lives of great danger
And the supply and demands of
ten thousand years of widows