It’s Poetry Friday and Keri is
hosting at Keri Recommends. Thanks, Keri!
Athena, New Acropolis Museum, Athens
Athena, New Acropolis Museum, Athens
I’m popping in with a poem inspired by my
recent trip to Greece. For a long time, it has been my dream to walk in the homeland
of my grandfather John Brousaides, who emigrated to Boston in the early 20th
century. He fled to avoid conscription into the Turkish army where he would have been forced to fight against his Greek countrymen.
My husband Bob and I crossed off this bucket list item as our 50th wedding anniversary celebration. And our family and friends came along!
I didn't get as far north as Mount Parnassus, but came within sight of the Muses' mountain at magnificent Delphi. I'm still awash in the memories of olives, feta, Greek yogurt and honey, the many hues of Aegean blue, and the outpouring of hospitality from the Greeks we met.
My husband Bob and I crossed off this bucket list item as our 50th wedding anniversary celebration. And our family and friends came along!
I didn't get as far north as Mount Parnassus, but came within sight of the Muses' mountain at magnificent Delphi. I'm still awash in the memories of olives, feta, Greek yogurt and honey, the many hues of Aegean blue, and the outpouring of hospitality from the Greeks we met.
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Olives growing in Athens - my photo |
This poem with Greece personified in Athena surfaced on the plane
ride from Toronto to Athens. Pantoums always seem like a good place to start
when I don’t know where I want to end up. Believe it or not, the biggest challenge for me here was the choice between dreamt and dreamed! Any votes for either one?
Many thanks to David John at My Favourite Planet for permission to post his lovely photos of Athena's statues. If you're a traveler or researcher, check out My Favorite Planet for amazing photos and commentary.
Athena, Pergamon Museum, Berlin
In Search of
Athena
The Greek goddess beckons me
to cross my own boundaries,
to reach back and grasp the hands
of kin who dreamt among the olives.
Crossing my own boundaries,
I hear stories pouring from Parnassus
of those who dreamt among the olives
rich with the oil of belonging.
Stories pour from Parnassus
of brothers who fled their homeland,
denied the oil of belonging
cold-pressed from Athena’s tree.
Brothers fled their homeland
leaving behind the olives
cold-pressed from Athena’s tree
for other fruits and new dreams.
Leaving behind her olives,
the Greek goddess beckons me
to taste the fruits and share the dreams
of those who reach to clasp my hand.
~ Joyce Ray, 2015 All rights reserved
A beautiful pantoum. It transported me right to Greece with you. (And I would vote for dreamt!)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Sally, for your complement and comment. I will certainly tally any votes, but my instinct says dreamt, as well.
DeleteHappy Anniversary! Sounds like a terrific way to celebrate it :-) I especially like "crossing my own boundaries," "rich with the oil of belonging," and the last two lines. I scrolled down and read the post about your Nanny's violin too. Lovely post! I hope your lessons are still going well.
ReplyDeleteTabatha, thanks for your wishes and for commenting on the poem. Lessons in NH have stopped for the summer since we spend time in Maine. My intention is to keep practicing - but then Greece happened! So I will get back on track - I will!
DeleteJoyce, I just returned from Greece also, but celebrating a 50th birthday with family rather than a 50th anniversary. What a lovely coincidence to find this post about some of the very same places I walked just a week or two ago! I really love "the oil of belonging" and the way you shifted the meaning of "cold-pressed" to fit your own family experience.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Heidi! 50 is a milestone. How wonderful that you celebrated with family in Greece, too! I'm sure you had a marvelous time, as we did. Pretty fantastic to be surrounded by all that history. Thanks for your comments.
DeleteThanks for sharing the poem and the photos. The phrase the oil of belonging is quite inspired. I thought to say that even before reading the post from Heidi Mordhurst. Seems like you found the Muses in their homeland and made it once again your own. I know a few Greek-Germans and Greek Americans and know how concerned they've been about the state of that nation in the EU. Will hope things work out better, especially for the average citizens who've undergone such hardships and uncertainty yet, as you pointed out, maintained their sense of hospitality and good will.
ReplyDeleteHi. Thanks for stopping by with your thoughts. I'm happy about all the positive comments on the phrase "oil of belonging." Sometimes the words just come. Must be the Muses at work! I, too, hope that the Greek people will achieve some financial stability. The shop keepers we spoke with want to remain in the EU. They say that's where the future is. I appreciate your comments!
DeleteHappy anniversary! Fifty years is definitely something to celebrate! Pantoum fascinate (and terrify me). I can't imagine ever being skilled enough to write one! Like several others, I love the "oil of belonging." And also "dreamt (perfect!) among the olives.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol! It's hard to believe that it's our turn at last. I hope you try a pantoum if you haven't. I find the structure helps direct my thoughts or offers a strange sense of security. Often I'm surprised at the direction the poem takes due to the constraints of the form. Thanks for voting and helping me with word choice.
DeleteHappy Anniversary, Joyce. What a beautiful trip to celebrate, and connecting with family so long ago, too. I love your poem, and especially this final line: "of those who reach to clasp my hand."
ReplyDeleteLinda, the word I chose for the third line is 'grasp' because I wanted to give a sense of reaching in the dark, not knowing what I would find. I'm glad that 'clasp' was available for the end because it suggests a sense of kinship. Thanks for your wishes and for stopping by with comments.
DeleteOh, lovely! I hope to go to Greece someday:>) I vote for "dreamed," because it feels softer and more time-shifty (if that makes any sense) than "dreamt" does. On the other hand, you have more short vowel sounds, so "dreamt" sounds a bit more like it fits. Still, my vote has to go to "dreamed" for the feeling. Beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteLaura, I do hope you travel to Greece someday. The sunlight and the water are remarkable. Hmm - the first vote for "dreamed." I appreciate the analysis you've done - pointing out short vowels vs. feeling. Yes, dreamed feels softer and offers the possibility of continued dreaming. Dreamt is pretty final. I really need to think about this! Thank you for your insight!
DeleteI visited Greece a few years ago and the memories are still strong. The feta, the olives, the people. I loved it all, especially the color blue (God's blue) Your poem uses the repetetive lines well to build a stable base for dreaming. Dreamt works fine for me, seems to fit with the language of old.
ReplyDelete"God's blue" - I love that description! Thank you for commenting, Margaret. I appreciate your insight about the repetition creating stability. Of course, I never consciously intend to make things like that happen. There is so much to learn, so many tools to discover! And thanks for voting for word choice!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous poem to span the decades! I agree with the others that dreamt fits better with the feeling of reaching back. I love how you subtly shift in each stanza to press more meaning out of each word and line. Well done!
ReplyDeleteHi Keri, I'm struck by your choice of words in your comment: "press more meaning." It calls to mind the phrase "cold-pressed from Athena's tree!" How wonderful if the line progression does press more meaning out of words and lines! Thank you.
DeleteAnd I'm afraid I have to go with "dreamed." My reasoning is nearly the same as Laura's. "Dreamt" is a complete stop, "Dreamed" with it's longer sound has me thinking that dreaming has happened, but will also continue to happen. I'm sure the Greeks, and you, will continue to dream.
ReplyDeleteI too, have a fear of forms using rhyme, but you seem quite comfortable with it. Keep up the good work, and, welcome back!
Thanks for your vote and the reasoning, Diane. Both forms of dream make sense and I wonder if I could use both to shift the meaning a bit: "kin who dreamt among the olives" and "those who dream among the olives." This tense change gives the idea of kin who dreamt in the past then shifts to the present and those who continue to dream. I think I like this. Thoughts?
DeleteHi, Joyce. I'm so glad I found this poem today. For this week's Poetry Friday, I have a poem about travel and olives by my friend, Lisa Vihos. I'll link back to your poem, because there are so many echoes between this poem and Lisa's. Congratulations on that BIG anniversary.
ReplyDelete