ATHENS

Did you take me for a Greek word?
Most do, but I pre-date the Greeks.

I used to describe a limestone plateau
where dusty snakes and small owls lived

with a people from whose mouths emerged
my extensive family. I miss the sound

of my original kin as I muck in
with this new crowd, biting my tongue

when I hear two or even three words stuck
together to describe skies my first family

got in a syllable - skies that occur at nighfall
in Attica after days of languor in late August

(you know the ones). But as I mourn the fall
in standards, I tell myself to be grateful

I'm uttered without nostalgia and remain
the name of this place. I'd hate to join Siam,

Byzantium, Saigon, Rangoon, Bombay -
beautiful words in various stages of decay.

by Helen FARISH, in "LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS", Volume 37, Number 16, 27 August 2015

(photo taken from the book UNESCO, Património da Humanidade, Tomo VI, Europa Oriental)