[MGSA-L] AE Stallings on the Trials of Greece

June Samaras june.samaras at gmail.com
Fri Jul 17 08:43:48 PDT 2015


http://aestallings.wix.com/aestallings#!The-Trials-of-Greece/c1q8z/55a4d3a50cf25b8bf7e8d399


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The Trials of GreeceJuly 14, 2015
from my Canto in A Modern Don Juan: Cantos for These Times by Divers Hands
i.The trials of Greece, the trials of Greece,Where tragic Callas thrilled
the nationAnd shrill Mercouri would not ceaseTo ask for the repatriationOf
Elgin’s—there translation garbles—Let’s just say Greece has lost her
marbles. Ii.Muses of Ritsos and Cavafy—Seferis, Palamas, Elytis—Have they
all gone for Turkish coffee?Or Nescafe?  How bitter-sweet isPoetry and
song—but lo,Who shut down public radio? iii.The mountains look on MarathonAnd
Marathon looks on the bay,Olympic venue ten years onAnd nothing’s gained,
and all to pay.Security still has its demonsDespite those hefty bribes to
Siemens. i.v.Persia now is called Iran,Darius has long gone to dust,Cyprus
nixed the Annan planAnd no one takes her banks on trust.Austerity is blind,
or deaf,And Freedom is the IMF. v.In Constitution square, convenersDeliver
megaphonic sermonsIn the traditional fifteneers,Or blast Philippics on the
Germans—Occupation come full circle—Its all so murky, call it Merkel. vi.(You
know the joke—it’s rather droll—Ms. Merkel visits this fair nationAnd when
guards at passport controlSay, name? Frau Merkel.  Occupation?She laughs a
little—here’s the sting—And says, “nein, I’m just visiting.”) vii.A day
late and a euro short,The IMF admits mistakes—Although it’s too late to
abort.No bureaucrat exaggerates—Austerity, youths in capotesWill tell you
is, in Greek, litotes. viii.But blame the politicians too—Who were too busy
getting rich—Byzantine teams of Green and Blue—To notice the old
bait-and-switch.No longer can they flaunt their lots:The dry docks
chock-a-block with yachts, ix.Though hardly any go to jail,Each party quick
to grant asylumSo that, when it’s their turn to fail,And their own
newspapers revile ‘em,They wriggle out of the kerfluffleThe decks are
stacked that parties shuffle. x.Give me some ouzo, or retsina—With no
receipt, or VAT.When Xerxes sat on SalaminaAnd watched his tubs sink in the
sea—He didn’t know to thank his luck.Who runs this country runs amok. xi.The
unemployment rate is rising,While pensions sink and prices spike.What is
the use of moralizing?Let’s have a drink, and go on strike—A poet’s
strike.  That’s what we need!They’ll beg us for the latest screed! xii.Even
graffiti has to rhyme,Even the anarchists must scan!The fascists chant in
perfect time—As do the lefties, to a man(or woman)—slogans, cries, and
curses—What is a protest sans the verses? xiii.Yes, thanks, I’ll have some
ouzo yet—A liquid pure and clear as Lethe,Until some water gets it wetAnd
it goes cloudy underneath.  TheProblem churns and gets no better:The ouzo
just keeps getting wetter. xiv.On Byron street, the T-shirts sellWith
slogans from Thermopylae.300 Spartans went to hellThat Greeks (Helots
aside) be free.There’s money, if the mint will make it—Let’s tell the
Troika, come and take it! xv.The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece,The
Greeks will sell them, one by one,And hope to buy a little peaceBy
auctioning the sea and sun.No war has been their fate, but tax,And greed,
and debt, and Goldman Sachs. xvi.Europe, thy very name is Greek—You were a
princess once, and fair,Wide-eyed, perhaps.  A little weak,But everyone has
flaws to bear.The journey promised, wonderful;But the ride you were taken
on was Bull.   copyright A. E. Stallings From A Modern Don Juan:  Cantos
for These Times by Divers Hands, edited by Andy Croft & N.S. Thompson, Five
Leaves Publications.
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