The Pebbled Shores of Ellada

By Jessica Carmen Bell

Along the pebbled shores of Ellada
I let the sun engrave my skin
As though a Greek God has now possessed me
I tread its land like I'm cursed with its sin
Floating somewhere amidst the sea mist
Is a veiled beggar from the past
Haunting every solitary step I take
Waiting for me to rebuild his mast

One foot on this beloved soil
I become a willing prisoner
Amongst the blues of the sky and the depths of the sea
My body and soul will never be set free
The olive groves and the grape vines
Entice me to intrude their sacred grounds
But I will eat their oils and drink their wines
Until a place to dwell has been found

I have now become embodied
In a certain type of cell
Instinctively invented by my heart
Or concocted by an infinite spell
Yes my love, I must look quite sad
You say that all I do is weep
But sometimes alone in my own abyss
I pray for bliss in my sleep

The tears don't pour just from my eyes sweetheart
If I perhaps try to escape
And it's not only my heart that tears apart
When I must leave this bewitching place
There is a mysterious power hidden here
That keeps me safe from harm
I am invincible from the eerie fear
And my revelations remain so calm

When I sleep at night under the secretive stars
Sometimes my dreams become alive
Will these words I write all day and night
Through the centuries survive?
Will the place I love through thick skin and bone
Live as letters on a page?
Or will they dissolve beneath this holy earth
Like mind and body after old age?

When the summer smell wafts through my window
It stirs a fated movement
Not of birds and bees and flowers and grass
But of passions, desire and sentiment
This smell sparks a fire inside the heart of my soul
A burning plea for creation
For music, for dance, for love
But most of all, just for this sensation

The streets are so quiet this time of year
Yet nature is in full bloom
And the roaring waves of the vicious sea
No longer entice temper and doom
Sometimes I find this sound of silence
Encompasses me like a child
To spare me the pain of an evil man
An unknown force or an invader of land

But nonexistence on the other hand
Could enable the abundance of my delight
As I sit alone gathered in my thoughts
My heart - out it pours, without a fight
Like a mountain of rich lava
Its force so red and strong
Or a steam train on a tainted journey
Where its coals last forever long

I know deep inside my heart that I must trust
I will say good, and I will say no wrong
At the end of this day I have sung the most beautiful song
Oh! - I have waited for this moment so long
In this life I live for only this -
If this place can touch your heart
Just like it did mine
I will live an eternal bliss!

© 2002 Jessica Bell