Yesterday a Full Moon Rose Over the Mediterranean

Yesterday the Mediterranean was bartered in two
                                        Mine and yours
                                        Turk and Greek
Yesterday the Sultan ruled from Istanbul
Before yesterday the Doga ruled from Venice
Today the moon shines first yellow then silver
                                over the Mediterranean
Today a stretch of sand -- the Gold Coast -- has become
                                a bargaining chip
                                on the negotiating table
Yesterday there were homes here filled with children
                                Reading the Greek alphabet
Today those blocks of language are still there
                                The books, the baby chairs
                                No one touches them
                                No one steals
And the moon looks sadly over the Mediterranean

II

I walk on the midnight beach followed by the moon
The moon startles me
I weep over the Mediterranean
I add one salt tear to the sea's salt
I am now the Mediterranean
                    My body is divided into two
                    My body is the nursery they lost
The moon rises in the sky
On a dark tower a soldier signs to me from the night


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