Fotoula Reynolds is a writer of poetry, born in Australia of Greek heritage. She lives in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria. She convenes a poetry reading group in her local community and regularly attends and participates in spoken word events in and around the city of Melbourne. She is the author of three poetry collections and is published in five Australian anthologies. Fotoula is a 2019 Pushcart Prize nominee.
A frenzy of bees
Seeking the nectar of
Thyme’s rosy blooms
Signals fragrant flashbacks
Of the summer of 1987
The majestic and mountainous
Region of Pelepónnisos is a
Body of land jutting southward
Into the Mediterranean
A peninsula that since antiquity
Has been a major part of Greece
On the right bank of the
River Pineios, which flows
Into the Ionian Sea, is the
Small town of Vartholomió
Locals wake after their
Post-lunch nap and gather
In the Square’s taverna for
Mezé and ouzo and kafé
The music of crockery and
Glass cling and clang like
An orchestral symphony
Villagers dine open air style
It’s in their nature
Tenderised and delicately
Smoked lamb rotates on the souvla
Coated in wild saffron
Apple-bearing sage and rosemary
Lemon squeezed liberally
From farm to plate to tables
Dressed in cloths of blue and white
Feasting under grapevines and
Shaded by gentle and giant pine trees
From Yiayia’s stone house at the top of
The cobblestone path, a spray of peonies
Dance in the warm Grecian breeze
We sip cooled traditional mountain tea
And burn livani to bless me and my arrival
The kairós of modern and ancient combine
As I pause in this cultural way of living
All I can do is watch incense rising
Poetry in this post: © Fotoula Reynolds
Published with the permission of Fotoula Reynolds