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Hydra This island whose name means water Never had gods and temples as other Greek islands had; It never was the home of monsters with ferocious heads, And maybe it wasn’t even there. But a few centuries ago, As though it had just risen from the sea, Men saw stones and pine trees on the slopes And with the stones made houses and with the trees made ships. And as naturally as fish swim The ships went sailing; And as naturally as the sun rises The boys grew into heroes and sailed to war. But the heroes were foolhardy as heroes are, So although they were brave and did amazing things The ships were sunk at last And the handsome heroes lay on the ocean floor. Wars over, fame won, the island settled down, But with the trees all gone the soil blew away to sea; The houses began to crumble, And the island bleached in the sun to anonymity. The name means water, but now even the wells are drying And no one expects the rock to grow trees again, While the waters push gently on its shores Waiting for the island to sink quietly back in the sea. 57 ...

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