Ray Greenblatt | Mediterranean Poetry

Ray Greenblatt has lived in New England, the West Indies, and along the Eastern Shore. He has written short stories, essays, and poetry which have been published across the U.S. in periodicals as diverse as America, English Journal, and Joseph Conrad Today.

He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and won the Anthony Byrne Prize. He was also the editor of the magazine General Eclectic. A teacher for many years Ray Greenblatt has taught writing in the Philadelphia Writers Conference as well as spoken at the John Steinbeck Festival in Salinas, California.

ON PAROS

Caught in a current
above an azure color
a lone gull calls
like a lost voice.
          The waves pound upon
          impervious shores,
          impotent fists
          upon a locked door.
The house perches on a crag
a flagpole-sitter
still there after
countless depressions.
          The fig trees
          the olive trees,
          so many strewn jewels
          wasted by careless hands.
I shuffle through empty
rooms cobbled together,
the terrazzo floor’s
design ever brilliant.
          Searing sun fills the house
          as tangible as flesh–
          one step more into anguish
          and I will recreate you.

GREEK IN EXILE

He sits in thick sunlight
of concluded memories

tries to decipher
the scrawling of sky

his splashing in the surf
drowned by sea’s muttering

large mug of wine
nectar or alum;

after dust and noise
have ebbed into silence

when a letter arrives
his nicked knuckles trembling

he slices it open
with fine glinting steel

peering obliquely in
to make any message

palatable,
even bland.

GROUND MIST NEAR CORINTH

We waded through
what might be smoke from fires
in the Peloponnesian War
or exploding bombs
in World War Two
          ground mist spun
          from earth still cold and
          a stroke of spring warmth
your legs bare
long hair mating with the wind
tight clasped hands
like many other things
          as we angled down a hillside
          thick with bright colors
          which could be
          poppy, hyacinth
          asphodel, anemone
          toward the Corinth Canal
          and the sea beyond.

For other contributions by Ray Greenblatt, please follow the links below: