Helen Farish, Athens

(source: Daily Mail)
no copyright infringement intended

Did you take me for a Greek word?
Most do, but I pre-date the Greeks.

I used to describe a limestone plateau
where dusty snakes and small owls lived

with a people from whose mouths emerged
my extensive family. I miss the sound

of my original kin as I muck in
with this new crowd, biting my tongue

when I hear two or even three words stuck
together to describe skies my first family

got in a syllable – skies that occur at nightfall
in Attica after days of languor in late August

(you know the ones). But as I mourn the fall
in standards, I tell myself to be grateful

I’m uttered without nostalgia and remain
the name of this place. I’d hate to join Siam,

Byzantium, Saigon, Rangoon, Bombay –
beautiful words in various stages of decay.

(source: London Review of Books)

(Helen Farish)

Helen Farish

Helen Farish
image by Caroline Forbes
(source: poetry archive)
no copyright infringement intended

British poet. Her volume Intimates won the 2005 Forward best first collection. As a noun, it promises secrets and, true to her word, Farish lifts the lid on the minutiae of her life, furnishing her poems with personal possessions and unveiling and discussing her body and sexuality. As a verb, however, it hints and alludes, undercutting the simplicity of her physical candor (source: The Guardian).

• Athens

(A Life in Books)