Greek Sun and Olives Greet the Day

On mornings when the sky is hidden,

or mornings when the blue is too bright,

I look out the kitchen window to see if it’s still standing.

Like a grandfather clock or just a grandpa-anything,

it gives me the feeling of having stood there a long, long time.

But it does not seem tired

or bending

or hurting in any way.

Instead, whenever I look to greet it, it smiles with a hint of certainty and knowing, like all elderly things do.

It still is giving -- its olives and oil, its wisdom and stories –

but not yet receiving.

Maybe my smiles and morning glances are little gifts

which it hides as treasures in its long-standing silence.

I look to my olive tree for wisdom and inspiration!  Happy scrawling Europe!

- Maria Rousakis

SCBWI Greece