Skorda's Seaside Taverna: Athena

Skopelos and Virgin

-by Skorda

Swallow that campari moon
when first you see it
across the water,
rising round and new above the mountain.
Open your mouth and swallow
while youth holds its roundness near,
and you are running fearless in the dark.
Hold it inside, it is still warm
and you will need its light,
there, inside you.

Down the road of time, somewhere
after you’ve aged, traveled,
Explored, discovered.
And the dust around your doorway
has been pounded hard and smooth under your feet.
When you find yourself growing weary and bored,
when your eyes see only ruins,
and your heart is empty.
You may believe, in your exhaustion,
that this is truth, at last.
That the mystery has unraveled,
leaving no wilderness to explore or tame.
All secrets have been shared,
the frontier has dissolved.
Know then, with these thoughts,
you have been swallowed.

The warm belly of the beast
comforts with confining darkness
and lulls with rhythmic sounds
Murmuring to you,
Curl up and sleep,
just go to sleep.

Shake your head,
stretch your legs,
do not sleep now.

Remember what you know.
You swallowed the moon,
you hold it inside you.
Not as a magpie hoarding shiny things,
or wearing the moon for beauty
or bartering the moon for wealth.
You swallowed the moon for this moment.
When you will walk to the water’s edge,
open your mouth, release the moon
and let its light build you a pathway
across the wine dark sea.
©Skorda 2008

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Athena

I love Athens. Sometimes I really, really hate Athens, but usually I love it. Noisy, smoggy beautiful, beautiful Athens.
For just one night I would love to experience the Hotel Britannia, but that is highly unlikely, I know Taki just would not do that. Besides, the hotel where we stay while in the city, the Cypria (formerly the Dio Mia) is excellent. If we can still afford to stay there. Through the years we have watched this hotel change and grow, never quite knowing what to expect from year to year. A few times we have stayed at other, less expensive small hotels, such as the Nefeli or the Acropolis House,but the Cypria is our home when we are in Athens.
Despite the cost and potential aggravation that is Athens, it is worth the effort to spend enough time to visit the major sites and museums. We have branched out so that we now visit smaller and lesser known museums and attractions. Sometimes we just walk and look at things and people. We do not go to the national museum every year anymore, but we do try to get to the Benaki. The first time Taki saw Kavafy's actual notebooks he was moved to tears. A fan of Bouboulina, I seek out her exhibit. And what we love about this museum is that unlike so many others with their overiced fast food cafeterias, the Benaki has a magnificent restaurant on the roof overlooking the city. A touch of ouzo, a salmon or procuitto sandwich and then a short walk back to the hotel. We usually eat dinner in the Plaka despite its reputation for being a tourist rip-off. The Platanos has been operating for so long, and it is just so much fun, that we never regret an evening meal there. We also like Xinos, Ok the food is inconsistent and nothing special but the outdoor dining garden is VERY special and they usually have live music- the same guys that have been playing there for at least 10 years. And then after eating ist is fun to move on to the livlier nextdoor Glykos for after dinner Metaxa. From the sour to the sweet. A younger crowd,when the stars line up right it can be fun.

O Xinos