Skorda's Seaside Taverna: Children of the Revolution

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

Friday, April 11, 2008

Children of the Revolution - Eleftheria

Liven up your Friday evening!

Eleftheria! Freedom! (starts Greek, later in English- Worth watching!)

It wasn't that long ago that people in Greece, would speak of "taking a trip to Europe" if they were going to visit France, or Germany, or other western countries on the continent. These days, however, Greece's national identity is becoming more closely alligned with the notion of "European". Greece has been in the E.U. since 1981, and they abandoned the drachma for the euro more than six years ago-and anyplace that takes the Euro is European, right? And yet...
I've found that many Americans are not aware that Greece was an occupied country, under Ottoman rule from 1453 until 1821, even later in some areas. Or that the Greeks did not experience the Age of Enlightenment as did Western Europeans.
That the Greek language and culture could survive domination to emerge triumphant is testimony to the strength of the Greek people and their desire to remain free. Greece's unique history, spiced with a dash of Asia Minor, keep the culture of this country distinct, with many roots that still wind their way to the east....
The music holds that link. Listen.