By Ishmael von Heidrick-Barnes
SYNTAGMA SQUARE
Today
there was no teargas in Syntagma Square
just tears swallowed by the austere protest
of laid off workers
forced to lie all night
outside sleeping churches
No loud speakers
just nails hammered into stone
by the old guards’ shoes
guarding the cenotaph beneath parliament
The unknown soldier
is no longer shielded by anonymity
It’s difficult to find anyone in Greece
who doesn’t know the name
of a man or woman
who has fought the indignity of a death
by a thousand cuts
until their bodies were buried
and bled through
the marble heart of democracy
Note: Syntagma Square (Constitution Square) is the heart of Athens. It is the location of the Parliament building and the Greek tomb of the unknown soldier. In recent years it has been a place of protests over the financial crisis that continues to cut workers’ wages and pensions. The protests sometimes erupts into violence between police and demonstrators.
John Kroll says
Good job.