A select gathering of bi-lingual souls enter

''The Galleon'' restaurant where

a group of local fishermen sit drinking raki.

 

Salt on lips from their fish 'n' chips

they gaze at the scene they came to view.

An artist's mural, a sea-scape, their escape.

 

A warm Aegean breeze blows, billowing sails

whistling through port-holes and beneath a canoe

leaning against its bows.

 

Further out to sea a collection

of cruisers and millionaires' yachts,

pedalos and dinghies jostle among speedboats

and liners form a queue.

 

Beneath a lone star and a crescent moon

the coachman pays the ferryman and

''The Galleon'' walls draped with grey damask. It's owner,

with pockets bulging and a belly filled with pride 

walks along a shingle beach waving at passers-by

riding the back of a banana ski.

Thank god for British t.v.