Phaselis

Phaselis

On the Antalya to Kumluca road

Ancient colony of Rhodes



Scurrying up the broken steps along the sides of the hills

So many ants along the shimmering Mediterranean



Togas traded in for red bikinis, brand name attire,

White and blue Nike and Adidas sleeveless shirts



This determined single-file heading upwards

Ascending, shifting, amphitheater-bound



Tucked against a once green hill that

The sun god has scorched in a fit of trepidation



The Roman Navy has sailed from this world

No longer needed to defend the citizens and



Traders from Carthage and Sparta and Persia



So many cats and Turkish tour guides

Now protect the three natural harbors



The sun sparkling off the blue-glass sea



Foreign tongues still bounce off the uneven

Cobblestones of the main street



Roman replaced by Russian and German



Today the Republic of Turkey lays claim to

This pile of ancient stones



Five million lira to look and touch and

Admire a civilization that commanded



The civilized world



Outside the baths a Norwegian family


Poses with a calico cat unaware of history

Michael Adubato

Michael Adubato was born and raised in New Jersey but moved across the ocean and settled in Belgium, mainly because the beer and soccer are better.  When he’s not at a stadium watching a game, he’s thinking about where to go for the next game.  He also writes about those games when the poems aren’t flowing.  His greatest achievement was convincing a beautiful Slovakian woman to marry him.