Calm before the Storm

leaves moving on

table under the
Judas tree over
our heads still

waiting for what
it was that
brought us here

we hear what
must be the
last cicada calling

loud and clear.

Erosion of Memory

On the bluff slowly

Being eaten away, rows
Of tenacious red and white

Laurels holding fast against
A calling, rippling blue

Sea.

--Vromoneri, Greece, August 6, 2009

Maximum Serenity Facility

Location: Vromoneri (Stinky Water), Messinias, overlooking the Ionian Sea--7 km south of Marathopolis-- this is where the two inmates were incarcerated for two days and forced every morning to descend some 75 steep, harrowing steps to a pebble beach and swim in the incredibly clear waters until exhausted, then made to climb back up in the early afternoon for a meager lunch consisting of a Greek village salad, wine, and fresh smelt caught by the warden a few hours earlier. Afterwards, a siesta, two hours of reading and/or writing and back down the steps again for another swim. In the evening, reading and/or writing, a light supper, and interrogation carried out by the warden under the light of an incredibly large August moon--pure torture, I tell you; honestly, I don't know how they survived the ordeal. Next time, the warden should definitely consider prolonging the period of confinement.

AWOL

From 1800 hrs Wednesday, August 5th to 1800 Friday, August 7th unless caught and brought back earlier.

Antediluvian Poem

How utterly

Profound, then lost
In the deluge

Left behind long before
It was time.