Astypalea by Sofia Kioroglou

Astypalea

Swathed in silky aquamarine waters, far-flung, butterfly-shaped. Astypalea, the bank of Gods, is my ultimate escape from the scurry and scramble of bustling Athens. With a frozen piña colada, I behold the rugged beach fringed in gas-blue waters, not holding out much hope of sighting a mermaid. While snorkeling, I discover an idyllic watery chest laden with sea anemones, shells and barnacles on some boat’s hull. I can also see some sea urchins conversing with each other, their spines threatening to inflict pain on the unsuspecting wader.

Under the scorching sun, hilltop Hora, is now a hazy tumble of bleached-white houses that cascade amphitheatrically down from the medieval fortress to the fishing port of Skala where I find myself beach bumming with Peter and our little cute poodle barking elegantly at the gentle lap of the sea against its paws, wagging its tail impishly with eyes glinting in the glare of the sun, silently beckoning us to cut short our little trip to heaven before the sun’s rays blow their finest, and the turquoise blue of the sea turns into violet mauves and ethereal purples shrouding us in some tribal mystery with the sound of the water like yodeling voices as they swell begging me to dip into it again!

Sofia KioroglouSofia Kioroglou is a Greek poet, writer and perennial traveller to the Holy Land and Egypt. Her recent entry to the Festival for Poetry was singled out at the Best of February and her poems have been selected in the 26 Most Commented Writers Category of Pengician. Her poems can be found online and in print in Lunaris Review, In Between Hangovers, Galleon Literary Journal, Pengician, Galway Review, Verse-Virtual, Dumas de Demain, Books’ Journal, Poetic Diversity, Every Writer, Winamop and Aenaon to name but a few. She has work forthcoming this March in Basil o’ Flaherty. She was one of the winners in the International Competition of Epok.gr this January and her work won a distinction in the Poetry Contest of Unesco Club for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Her work is mentioned in the Winningwriters Magazine this February.

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