Get Your Premium Membership

The Alpha of Modern Life

Poet's Notes
(Show)

Become a Premium Member and post notes and photos about your poem like Funom Makama.


This is an Ode about Greece. It is nearly 80% mountainous (line 1) and 98% of its residents are Greeks (line 2); slaves made up a large chunk of the Greeks population (line 9) and in the past the Greeks do not wave with an open hand. It is considered an insult to show the palm of the hand with the fingers extended (lines 10 & 11). After giving a compliment, Greeks make a puff of breath through pursed lips as if spitting. This is meant to protect the person receiving the compliment from the “evil eye” while a popular belief has it that shade of blue keeps evil away “Kyanos” (lines 12 & 13). The Hoplites “soldiers” in ancient Greece worse up to 70 pounds (33 Kilos) of bronze (line 14). Greece was once a makeup of about 1,500 different quarreling poleis “city states” with their separate laws and army, now it is a simple country (line 1). Greece has more Archaeological Museums than any other country in the world (line 19); In the past, a Spartan specialty was a black soup made from salt, vinegar and blood. No one in the rest of Greece would drink it (line 21). It attracts tourists in numbers, much more than its population (line 24).

It is a field composed of four times more stones than grass with a spectacular traditional residency, making its habitat almost homogenous is this global historic street light, shinning with well spread beams. Through its inventions of western theories of tragedy and comedy, major mathematical principles, histiography and western literature, political science, the Olympics and western philosophy. All well capped by the majestic influence from its creation of democracy. Setting up as passengers of a flight travel to the past, the suppressed heavily added to the density of its people. Waving with an open hand and fingers well extended hits the mind with similar intensity to telling an irish “smell ya ma”. The puff of breath through pursed lips and the shade of blue stand in mythical beliefs of protection against evil. The unbelievable stamina of the Hoplite soldiers all sum up the beautiful historic landmark of a nation once defined by thousands of different quarreling colonies. The leading producer of sea sponges with its ships more than twice as much as its continental fleets and a global accolade of accumulating archaeological Museums. Despite being heavily wounded by financial meltdown; and still drinking from the deadly taste of its black soup its highlighted prominence in history, mathematics and philosophy together with the cultural swag of its first world features attract yearly interested sight-seekers much more than its inhabitants which is an enough statement, to the testament of its global charm.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2015




Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem.

Please Login to post a comment

A comment has not been posted for this poem. Encourage a poet by being the first to comment.


Book: Shattered Sighs