Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GREEK QUARTER, by JOHN MYERS O'HARA



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE GREEK QUARTER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The cryptic letters of the golden tongue
Last Line: The blue Ægean sparkling in the day.
Subject(s): Coffee Houses; Greek Language; Immigrants; New York City; Emigrant; Emigration; Immigration; Manhattan; New York, New York; The Big Apple


The cryptic letters of the golden tongue
The philhellene upon the window sees,
And hears the music of Maeonides
Above the roar by trains and traffic flung;
Heroic odes to Argive valour sung.
And softer strains of old idyllic ease;
A solace lure for servile destinies
Unknown to Hellas when the world was young.
I sip the coffee of Demetrios
And listen while my thought is far away;
The swarthy faces of the dim café
Are olive vendors on the shores of Cos;
The wall lamps flicker but I peer across
The blue Ægean sparkling in the day.





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