Mykonos (1993)

Π  ΜΙΚΟΝΟΣ

At Mykonos, I remember you
Your beauty framed by the blue;
Your cotton shirt stained by the hues
Of the Aegean sun, whom Night pursues.
     Evening falls; silence broken by marble walls
     Scattered among laurel and olive shrubs;
     Amidst which I sit, longing to hear, words overdue.
     Night deepens and darkness floods;
     Andromeda, Orion now rise; flies, and fleetingly falls.
     Far flung below, coastal lights blinked and withdrew.
By morning my memory of you is refreshed
Stirred by Siren breeze, washed by dew
Filling with musk, citrus, and your sweet caress;
Strengthened, resolved to the test –
But disarmed completely as you tease –
Drawing me, helplessly, to your breast.

Far from Skiathos, Mikonos – the Ionian Sea
I have forgotten you, found myself roaming free.
Yet neither the potency of Styx nor puerile Cupid
Could vex me from that bid
Hear cherished words, revive this ailing spirit
Sorrow, your embrace, loving, gentle, passionate, true
Which call out from my dreams and draws me close to you.


29 November 1993