Greece

Here lie abandoned gyro crusts and Bundt cake crumbs.
Your fingers shine with olive oil grease

as our Athenian crusade takes off its mask and reveals a corpse
My red swimsuit’s a siren, a caterwaul in today’s sea.

Grapefruit Tom Collins, boulders of feta,
and frayed short shorts are an emblem of disgust.

There is the slap of sandals against the ground,
a piece of lettuce you flicked off my chin, and the baklava,

demure and blushing, resting between us—a territory
we recognise as Switzerland as our spoons clink against the plate.

Ava Patel graduated from the University of Warwick with a First in an MA in Writing.  She has continued to write poetry since her degree and had some small successes being published in webzines (Runcible Spoon; London Grip; Ink, Sweat and Tears) and magazines (South Bank Poetry; Orbis; SOUTH; Dream Catcher). Her debut pamphlet ‘Dusk in Bloom’ has been published by Prolebooks and she runs an Instagram poetry page: @ava_poetics.