Thinking Poetically

Here's another piece of personal poetry. Drop me a line if you have any thoughts critical or otherwise. The explanation is below the poem itself, so I don't sully your enjoyment of it.

"Ode to Andros"

Welcome rain pits the seafoam, the roiling waves
ruining the narrow window of calm, the space
winter ferries slip through under scudding clouds
and long-winded sighs from the East.

Ivy lightning snakes over battened hatches,
shaming neon stripes huddled in panes
surrounding the harbor, unblinking
spectators to the gale’s orchestra.

The whistle of the heater, thump of the wind,
patter of the shutters, play the tune of the storm
under the aegis of the Aegean conductor.

The flash on the point winks a warning
to morning sailors, the grapeshot splatter
a sharp reminder to watch the night no more.

So, there you have it. I wonder what Tony Glynos, who's family is from Andros, would think of it. It came from my first traveling experience when I visited Greece. I arrived in Athens alone, two weeks before my program was due to start, as a few readers of this blog may know. There was a day or two where I was able to nip down to Rafina, ferry out to Andros, and wander about amazed before slipping back to the mainland just before gales halted the ferry service.

I was, as far as I could tell, the only visitor on the island, and the only guest in the only hotel I could find that was open. Absolutely wonderful time, arriving after dark, with the vanguard of the storm already sending skirmishers to black out the stars and wet the night. It would have been even better if the bus driver hadn't driven off with all my earthly posessions in the storage compartment of the bus. Thank heaven I got them back the next day.