A Greek Coffee

You have travelled
from East to West;
at times a bitter old man,
at times a sweet granny,
and sometimes a sharer
of spicy, ancient secrets.
Your warm aroma and your
body are unfiltered,
prone to sunstroke.
Why did you decide
to stand in front of the red sun
so long?
You have a tan so rich, but
be careful not to burn
yourself next time.
Your new house
is small and round,
with a door-handle in the
shape of a broken heart.
It barely fits all of you,
but it’s enough for now.
It will soon be over.
For now, you hide under a
bubbly blanket, concealing
your hot breath.
When you decide to open up,
you make others forget about
the worst pains, of uprooting
and loss.
When you accidentally
stumble and fall,
or an earthquake shakes
your house,
riches find you, “It’s luck.”
Meanwhile, a nod to
that tall glass of water, ready
to cool each day's
everlasting and
heated debates.

Penny (Panagiota-Paraskevi) Menekou is from Halkidiki, Greece and she is a student in the School of English at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her poetry revolves around Greek history, customs, and traditions— reflecting, reminiscing and searching for how it all tastes.