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
