The days before Epiphany

In isolated island ports,
where every pebble on the shores
is smooth and elegantly shaped,
recalling archetypal forms
familiar from Cycladic figurines
of unknown deities -
a faceless lyre-player
who might be Orpheus,
effigies who might be gods
or men, women or goddesses -
the sea bestows its endless cache
of prototypal artefacts
to carry in the hand as charms,
place upon a windowsill,
balance on a balcony,
adorn a courtyard's quiet niche,
lay mutely on a grave,
or simply contemplate.

And in those same
small island ports
after the first December gales
they hoist the Christmas boat aloft,
a replicated fishing-caique,
honed by tradition to its calling,
gunwhales decked with coloured bulbs,
keel most often painted blue or white.

The boat is fashioned out of wood,
though not a metonym for tree.
Rain dilutes the winter sea,
prepares it for Epiphany,
making it translucent for the youths
to find the Cross.



* In Greece it is the practice at
Epiphany (January 7) for young men
to dive into water (sea or lake or
river) to retrieve a cross (crucifix)
cast into the waters by the local
priest or bishop.