Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE GREEK QUARTER, by JOHN MYERS O'HARA 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. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...READY FOR THE CANNERY by BERTON BRALEY TRANTER IN AMERICA by AUGUST KLEINZAHLER MEETING YOU AT THE PIERS by KENNETH KOCH FEBRUARY EVENING IN NEW YORK by DENISE LEVERTOV ON 52ND STREET by PHILIP LEVINE THREE POEMS FOR NEW YORK by JOSEPHINE MILES NEW YORK SUBWAY by HILDA MORLEY DOMESDAY BOOK: FATHER WHIMSETT by EDGAR LEE MASTERS |
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