Brother, though the city all around us burns,
And we must leave,
Let us force ourselves to linger
By this fresh grave,

In short and silent tribute to a darling friend
To us and Greece
Terribly provoked to render
His sacrifice.

Sister, as the city crumbles into ash
Like our dear friend,
Let us leave ourselves to linger

Until the end.
Brother, though the unequal battle here is lost

That evil won,
We must weaponise our anger
And carry on.

May 2023

This relates to the poem A statue in Corfu Town. It was a response to a challenge to write a poem inspired by a detail of a painting by Carmella Dolmer. The whole picture was also the ekphrastic challenge for May 2023 on the Rattle website.