ATHENS
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