Thursday, January 12, 2017

Rob Schackne Poems #6 - Ikaria

Ikaria


On an island they lived longest
who took tiny breaths and waited
rising and falling in the same motion
today I can't explain that with this

both rocks and bushes smell like honey
so let's please start with a garden
and with the insects they named

they lived there in simple houses
ακίνητος but didn't recognise it
lacking a classical education
and still they came with bread
(and this was very long ago now)
centenarians caring for children
flowed from warm hives like a breeze
who looked first at the state of my clothes
and then addressed my hunger.

5 comments:

  1. I spent some pleasant days on Ikaria about twenty years ago... all that radioactive stone on the beach was... interesting

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    1. 20 years ago. Pleasant days, pleasant memories.

      Me, I've never been there. Someday I hope. I remember that I had a dream and I wrote the poem and then read an article about Ikaria. Although it could have been in a different order.

      (Radiation does nothing for longevity.)

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  2. this poem sounds perfect to me .... and the Aegean islands are very dear to me! I spent a few months between Patmos and Kalymnos... I love Greece, I even thought of moving and settling there ... an old dream ... but thanks for the nice memories this poem is able to revive!

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    Replies
    1. I'm happy that it revived those dear memories, Béatrice. Thank you for reading. :)

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