Delphi
Even this solemn remnant
of the ancient temple standing
like an anchorite in meditation
on the slope of the tired hill
even this they will defile
remember it — I said
half-breed men with wide shoulder-blades and
hierodules with exquisite cheekbones
swaying their provocative buttocks
for the amusement of the winds and
for the salinity of the smooth sea
even this they will defile
remember it—I said
aimlessly before the innocent statues
they will desecrate and life a whore
they will call and with stamina
and unyielding persistence they will
bury the primeval beauty and after
they exhume the ancestral hatred
and guilt, they will imprison pneuma
to be guarded by Herculean arms and
theirs the wealth
of the valley and my kin’s reward
blood-shed in streets and neighborhoods
where you and I once roamed and
played making plans for exploits and deeds
and you said —
it would have been better if we stayed
obedient to the holy and venerable
half-truths brought to our lands by easterners
at least they promised a gleaming Paradise
