Oh, enelysios, we greet
the summer dawn
gulls quiet, doves hushed
fishing boats troll
their exit from Agios Giorgios
I woke startled from this fetid dream
a tangle of taught possibilities and discomfort
nippled volcanoes emerged
and the ocean soothed the battle bronte
washed the mythos of human existence –
goats, donkey saddles, local honey
ants – if they sleep – are the first to awaken
even they go back for the dead
cannibal or not – nothing goes to waste
is still honoring atop their shield of carapace
Oh, enelysios, I kept the oath three times
swept forth across the plains as wind shears
of justice and triage
I who remain by the alter
I who remain by the olive tree
I who remain by the sacred well
clears your way – blaze doors with the sword of Astrape
abandon not my post
More ancient than these chiseled stones
spit forth from the annals of Khaos –
I remember and return – Oh, enelysios,
I smear survivors’ guilt
on fresh bread to start my day
this is the sea you pour
on the alter rock of broken amphorae
Sundress Best of the Net Nominee, Suzanne S. Rancourt, is of Abenaki/Huron descent. Author of Billboard in the Clouds, Northwestern UP, received the Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas First Book Award, and murmurs at the gate, Unsolicited Press, released in 2019. Old Stones, New Roads, Main Street Rag Publishing ,forthcoming Spring 2021. She is a USMC and Army Veteran who holds degrees in psychology, writing and expressive arts therapy. Suzanne is widely published. Please visit her website for a complete publication list: www.expressive-arts.com