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