ODE ON A GRECIAN SPOON
I
CORFU
"Odysseus slept here" Corfucians say
And so did chispa sleep for many a day
In "pleasant land" of Ody's wandering
Where Homer wrote the Idylls of his King.
Late like Odysseus (I had missed my plane)
The taxi took me down Oleander Lane
And stopped ten feet from Chispa's sturdy cords.
Baggage in hand, I begged to come aboard.
Di and Anthony and Trystan too
slept soundly through my arrival in Corfu.
"Port cabin aft" the Skipper greeted me
While Ann Chirruped, "and would you like some tea?"
II
ITHACA
Ithaca, O Ithaca! Odysseus' dome!
They say he stood here on his way home.
We could not find him or his palace tower
Though threading roads for hours in a rented car.
Anthony thought that getting lost was "Cool!"
We never did find Homer's ancient school.
A nearby beach forfilled his fondest dream:
We caught cicadas and a small sardine.
Braving a storm (the ferries ran all day)
Di and the boys whisked on their arduous way
While Erik flew from Athens hale and merry
Despite the bother of both bus and ferry
III
ZACYNTHOS
On to Zacynthos where grapes grew free
Between the rows of ancient olive trees.
We are lost and found, and lost, and found again
Much to planner Jan's intense chagrin!
I dream of Athina's sites - her heights to reach
We saw them all, including her sulphur beach.
I went spelunking while others bathed;
At a museum, Jan and Ann both raved
About the natural history of the place.
Then back to Chispa - no need now to race!
The boat is ship-shape, waiting there for us
To cross the strait to Peloponnesus.
IV
PELOPONNESUS
Olympia is first on Jan's agenda-
Miracles of art in the male gender;
While gods were worshipped onthe temple mounds
Athletes competed for their laurel crowns.
Then on to Sparta. What a contrast though!
For starters, the omnibus was far too slow-
But bussing back, ann quickly cooled my ardour
By dousing my bare chest with freezing water!
It pooled (somehow)beneath my derriere.
Athina smiled: I found a teddy bear
And sat upon it as a throne
All the way back to Chispa - my new home.
V
ATHINA
We anchored in a sandy bay or two
Before we sailed for Crete the whole night through
The birth of Civilization, it is said,
Where Zeus was born - and Minos tossed his head.
Odysseus stayed here seven years or more
Stricken by Circe's beauty to the core:
And circe (of course) reminds me of Athina
Everywhere since Zacynthos I have seen her,
That Grecian beauty with the golden hair!
Jan too has said he sees her everywhere.
Tomorrow we begin our tour of Crete -
Have car, will travel - at enormous speed.
VI
CRETE
Poor chispa's ailing with broken clutch
Which hampers progress - makes us work too much.
The auto pilot's dead - the radar too:
We alternate long turns at the helm - and loo.
Knossos has fallen to our camera's eye,
And Zeus cave, and windmills, azure sky,
Monasteries, shrines, "another bloody church" -
A nunnery that leaves Athina in the lurch
They say that all hundred nuns in here are "virgin" -
As "extra fine" as the olive oil they purge in.
Bathing in olive oil! but one thing's clear:
Islamic martyres are not welcome here!
VII
RHODES
It's on to Rhodes, despite the gale force winds
That toss tall yachts about like garbage bins.
So far I'd not been sick, had coped quite well -
but this night's crossing is a living hell!!
Though the mistress of chispa's clearly Ann
Don't fool yourself - the Master's Captain Jan!
This "holiday of a lifetime" is a gift
I'll always cherish! Even as we drift
In 'senior' years to different sandy shores
This dream will stay with me forevermore
Thank you, Admiral Ann and Captain Jan
for your patience, sporting humour and elan!!
Gary Botting August - September 2008
