Ray Greenblatt has lived in New England, the West Indies, and along the Eastern Shore. He has written short stories, essays, and poetry which have been published across the U.S. in periodicals as diverse as America, English Journal, and Joseph Conrad Today.
He was nominated for the Pushcart Prize and won the Anthony Byrne Prize. He was also the editor of the magazine General Eclectic. A teacher for many years Ray Greenblatt has taught writing in the Philadelphia Writers Conference as well as spoken at the John Steinbeck Festival in Salinas, California.
I, Sappho, walk naked under the moon
on this beach,
now in a valley since my companion has left
whereas, Man has created the Epic
a song that must be chanted round a fire
punctuated by clench of swords on shields
I, Woman, have composed the first lyric
a song of love and loss and yearning
a song which can be hummed inward
in a room while knitting
or while sitting by a cradle
this side of the island is vacant
for villagers believe the dead dwell here,
yet I conceive that gods reign here:
their light reflected by the moon
is all that humans can withstand
I must go to the other side
to seek friendship,
my house has always open windows
and wide terraces,
my sign is the crab
for I too have learned
to approach life obliquely.
CAMUS IN ALGIERS
Did you write this
or do I imagine:
In the room they could not
communicate, but
coming out into the street
she leaned against him
with a smile.
The night as soft as milk,
he held his hand up
and turned it and it became
as significant
as a star.
I try to weave the pieces
together. I try
to understand.
TORSO
Without limbs we can only intuit The gouge in abdomen |
For other contributions by Ray Greenblatt, please follow the links below:
- CARCASONNE …
- SAILING ON CORFU …
- PAINTERS ON THE MED
- SOUTHERN FRENCH TOWN …
- RIVIERA WEATHER …
- A PERFECT PLACE …
- FOLLOWING THE GUIDEBOOK …
- GREEK MAGIC …
- MINORCA: NEWLY ARRIVED …
- PASSING THROUGH TOULON …
- CIRCLE OF LIGHT …
- THE ANCIENT AIR OF ORVIETO …
- MONTE CARLO …
- ATHENA ENTERS …
- NAUSICAA …
- A HARD SONG …
- GOLDEN AFTERNOON – MENTON …
- ON THE BEACH AT PIRAEUS …
- CONTEMPORARY LUXURY …
- TOO LONG ON CORFU …
- CRAZY IN SICILY …
- AN ATHENIAN DAY …
- ON PAROS …
- TO THE BEACH …
- THE ISLAND THAT DISAPPEARED …
- A TRANSLATION FROM ALEXANDRIA …
- HERAKLEION …
- TOURISTS …
- BARCELONA …
Poetry in this post: © Ray Greenblatt
Published with the permission of Ray Greenblatt