Mocco Wollert: ‘Greece’ and ‘Last intimacy’

Greece

Feel the haze of heat and water
as you sail the seas of Greece,
stand at Paleokastritsa
where the sky looks like a frieze.
Taste the harshness of Retsina
while Surtaki notes float by,
fill your mouth with fish and olives
watch Parnassus rise up high,
holding Delphi like a jewel,
set against Apollo’s time,
while Olympia lies drowsy
in a stillness that’s divine.
Wander through the streets of Athens,
feel her heartbeat in each street,
lift your eyes to ancient splendour,
sacred ground beneath your feet.
With Athena smiling wisely
from her temple, high and tall,
Greece must surely be eternal
and I’ll always feel her call.

Mocco Wollert

Last intimacy

I nestle my head
into the hollow under his chin,
inhaling the well-known smell.
I am as familiar to him as his pillow,
something to put
his head into,
put his arms around.
Once our heads
lay together, cheek to cheek,
loath to endure any space
to separate our bodies, our breaths.
He will be leaving me soon,
is slowly walking into that dimension
where I can’t follow.
There is still warmth in that hollow
under his chin,
my last refuge.

Mocco Wollert