Ode To Greece, And The Echoes Of You Poem by Lewis Dever

Oh Thessaloniki, cradle of sunlit dreams,
Where azure waters whisper to golden streams,
Your streets, a tapestry of stories untold,
Where past and present seamlessly unfold.

The White Tower stands, steadfast and true,
Its shadow stretching, as if reaching for you.
How many evenings did it see us roam,
Two souls adrift, finding fleeting home?

Beneath the Byzantine skies, I caught your gaze,
Eyes like the Aegean, a warm, endless haze.
Your laughter danced with the city's breeze,
A melody mingling with Thessaloniki's seas.

The markets buzzed, alive and bright,
With spices and sounds, from morning till night.
You led me through alleyways, narrow and steep,
Where history breathed, and memories sleep.

Oh Greece, you wrapped us in your embrace,
With vineyards, olives, and a slower pace.
Mount Olympus loomed, a silent guide,
While we wandered your lands, side by side.

I recall the tavernas, their tables of stone,
The crackle of music, the world all our own.
Bouzouki strings sang of joy and regret,
Each note a promise I cannot forget.

And when twilight kissed Thessaloniki's shore,
We spoke of everything and nothing, and more.
Your voice like poetry, soft and sincere,
A rhythm of Greece that still lingers here.

But time, that thief, would not let us stay,
It stole you from me, and pulled you away.
Yet Thessaloniki holds the echoes of you,
In every sunrise, in every dew.

Oh Greece, your beauty now bittersweet,
With memories woven into each heartbeat.
I see her in your olive groves,
In the light that through your sunsets roves.

Thessaloniki, I tread your streets once more,
Seeking her shadow, behind each door.
And though she's gone, your soul is the key—
A reminder of love, and what once was to be.

So here I stand, where the Aegean sings,
Lost in the memories your essence brings.
Oh Greece, keeper of joy and rue,
Forever I'll love you—for you hold her, too.