This blogpost is dedicated to R.H., with best holiday wishes, December 2017.
LIMERICK VERSE: Original verses composed by Giorgio Coniglio,
August 2017. Many of these verses can also be found in OEDILF, the Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form.
ORIGINAL SONG: These verses can be sung to "The Limerick Song", as per YouTube here.
WORDPLAY LINK: On our sister blog "EDIFYING NONSENSE", these poetic reminiscences can be found in two collections, entitled "Verse for Excursions: The Greek Isles", and "More Verse for Excursions: Crete and Athens".
ORIGINAL SONG: These verses can be sung to "The Limerick Song", as per YouTube here.
WORDPLAY LINK: On our sister blog "EDIFYING NONSENSE", these poetic reminiscences can be found in two collections, entitled "Verse for Excursions: The Greek Isles", and "More Verse for Excursions: Crete and Athens".
CONTENTS:
1. Acropolis
2. Cruising the Cyclades
3. Cretan Salad
4. Chania, Crete
5. Kri-kri, the Cretan Goat
6. Approaching Santorini (Thera)
7. Santorini Wines
8. Evzones
TRAVELS IN GREECE
A LIMERICK MEDLEY
(to the tune of "The Limerick Song". Display of the lyrics has been condensed to 4 lines for each verse, with internal rhyming in line 3, rather than the more customary 5-line limerick format.)
1. We're the columns of Athens' Acropolis;
We stand solemn atop our cosmopolis.
Yet four centuries past: The Turks' magazine - Blast!
Morosini from Venice did topple us.
Then our town suffered depopulation.
We awaited reglorification.
Worse, our Marbles were lost —A calamitous cost
Of the dangers of colonization.
Our great temples they're slowly restoring,
We're historic and Doric, and soaring.
Enter 'Gate of Beulé ', walk Athenian Way;
There's no person on earth finds us boring.
2. Here's to cruising the breezy Aegean
(Charters pricey, though wind-power is free). An
Excursion ecstatic 'round the circuit Cycladic:
Praising that's why I'm writing this paean.
See grand Ándros and islets quite teeny,
Oía sunsets on old Santoríni,
Náxos, Mýkonos, Délos, Sýros, Sérifos, Mílos;
Wondrous beaches, so pack your bikini.
Beaufort 7 is eastwardly blowin’
Past these isles filled with relics Minoan.
Modern Greeks stay in touch in remote locales; such
Is their culture — pervasive, Cell-phoan.
3. A critique that will make you my debtor:
Hortatiki in Greece, salty feta?
Try the fresh Cretan cheese; their myzithra will please.
Salads eaten on Crete - So much better!
4. While St. Mark's regal Lion held sway,
Western Crete's hub was named 'La Cane-
-a'. To make no deletions, Turks then routed Venetians —
Modern Greeks call Chaniá theirs today.
But Minoans had settled 'Kydonia'
(Yes, our knowledge of that might be phonier);
B.C.E. 69, Rome attacked; town did fine.
I've gone trekking there; now I'm much bonier.
Cretan gorges can boast terrain striking,
Not too dry, and some shade, to your liking.
It's today's outdoor rage; join with George on this page.
Grab your boots and your poles for some hiking.
5. I'll invoke ecologic critiquery:
Cretans hunted, with sheer hide-and-seekery,
In crevasses on Crete, kri-kris' hides and their meat
Today refuges prize their uniquery.
6. As Canucks approach Thera by boat,
They’re amazed; local hosts sometimes gloat,
“That bright snowlike ledge, the caldera’s white edge --
Sea-view villas, no icefield”, they note.
7. Santorini makes famous sweet wines;
Strange growth habit – Assyrtiko vines.
On a near-rainless isle, a volcanic rock pile;
Dew collects where each plant intertwines.
Vines survived the horrific explosion,
Barren soil and intense wind erosion.
Vineyards (no trellis used) look untended, abused.
But Vinsanto's a sought-after potion.
8. The Evzones, Greek President's Guard,
Standing watch in the Parliament's Yard,
With Grand Change -- martial beat,
Stamp the ground with right feet,
Then stand totally still — Must be hard!
They maneuver adeptly, so deft
In strange uniforms drawn from the klepht;
And each strutting fella wears a kilt, 'fustanella' —
Pleats record when the Ottomans left.
We stand solemn atop our cosmopolis.
Yet four centuries past: The Turks' magazine - Blast!
Morosini from Venice did topple us.
Then our town suffered depopulation.
We awaited reglorification.
Worse, our Marbles were lost —A calamitous cost
Of the dangers of colonization.
Our great temples they're slowly restoring,
We're historic and Doric, and soaring.
Enter 'Gate of Beulé ', walk Athenian Way;
There's no person on earth finds us boring.
2. Here's to cruising the breezy Aegean
(Charters pricey, though wind-power is free). An
Excursion ecstatic 'round the circuit Cycladic:
Praising that's why I'm writing this paean.
See grand Ándros and islets quite teeny,
Oía sunsets on old Santoríni,
Náxos, Mýkonos, Délos, Sýros, Sérifos, Mílos;
Wondrous beaches, so pack your bikini.
Beaufort 7 is eastwardly blowin’
Past these isles filled with relics Minoan.
Modern Greeks stay in touch in remote locales; such
Is their culture — pervasive, Cell-phoan.
3. A critique that will make you my debtor:
Hortatiki in Greece, salty feta?
Try the fresh Cretan cheese; their myzithra will please.
Salads eaten on Crete - So much better!
4. While St. Mark's regal Lion held sway,
Western Crete's hub was named 'La Cane-
-a'. To make no deletions, Turks then routed Venetians —
Modern Greeks call Chaniá theirs today.
But Minoans had settled 'Kydonia'
(Yes, our knowledge of that might be phonier);
B.C.E. 69, Rome attacked; town did fine.
I've gone trekking there; now I'm much bonier.
Cretan gorges can boast terrain striking,
Not too dry, and some shade, to your liking.
It's today's outdoor rage; join with George on this page.
Grab your boots and your poles for some hiking.
5. I'll invoke ecologic critiquery:
Cretans hunted, with sheer hide-and-seekery,
In crevasses on Crete, kri-kris' hides and their meat
Today refuges prize their uniquery.
6. As Canucks approach Thera by boat,
They’re amazed; local hosts sometimes gloat,
“That bright snowlike ledge, the caldera’s white edge --
Sea-view villas, no icefield”, they note.
7. Santorini makes famous sweet wines;
Strange growth habit – Assyrtiko vines.
On a near-rainless isle, a volcanic rock pile;
Dew collects where each plant intertwines.
Vines survived the horrific explosion,
Barren soil and intense wind erosion.
Vineyards (no trellis used) look untended, abused.
But Vinsanto's a sought-after potion.
8. The Evzones, Greek President's Guard,
Standing watch in the Parliament's Yard,
With Grand Change -- martial beat,
Stamp the ground with right feet,
Then stand totally still — Must be hard!
They maneuver adeptly, so deft
In strange uniforms drawn from the klepht;
And each strutting fella wears a kilt, 'fustanella' —
Pleats record when the Ottomans left.
UKULELE-FRIENDLY FORMAT
(Click on any chord-chart slide to move to 'song-presentation mode'; then navigate through thumbnails at bottom of page.)
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| tourists, agog |
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| Our boat approaches the pirates' island of Gramvousa, site of a Venetian fortress near Balos Beach, Crete |
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