Sun - Kings

 

The Aegean sleeps in sunbreath,

sparkling like a gift

to children on a beach;

splashing whales breach among the caïques

while drifting, effortless, to baked islands

harsh as truth, gentle as giants.

 

On shattered Santorini riders thread Vespas

along sea-shores and white-dusted heights; whores

cling tight with promises to come.

Corniche poseurs drip fool's gold,

hot as fat from ladles,

on volcanic waters, while

shirtless men thatch beach shelters

at ten euros a day.

 

All this time Sun-Kings play, poker-faced

in immortality;

holding plenty, knowing little.

 

Chris Hubbard

Chur, Switzerland

2016.