I once lived in Athens
The chill of Scotland replaced
By balmy Hellenic nights
A band for a girl

Blocks of white
Baking in the sun
Stray dogs, tongues lolling
Waiting for dusk

Ruins, excavations
Stepping on history
Acropolis, Agora
Zeus, Olympic stadium

The original one that is
New facilities already
Crumbling and decrepit
The party eight years gone

Replaced by austerity
Strikes, strikes, strikes
Mountains of garbage
Choking the streets

Wilting in the sun
Like me carrying
A succulent watermelon
Tzatziki, feta and olives

The port of Piraeus
Gateway to the islands
A sea of taxi drivers
Endaksi, we live here

Well only for a few months
Half-hearted Greek study
Half-hearted job hunting
Afto to psomi parakalo

Three Poles and I
Making Kallithea home
Imbibing ice cold beer
From frozen glasses

Sounion by the sea
Byron’s poetic licence
Lucky his body of work
Stood the test of time