As for the impossibility of being here,
I think of the old man limping ahead of me
in the village today, a huge bag of lemons in one hand,
an olive-wood cane in the other, black wool
sweater thin at the elbows, how he stopped
once, then again, to look over his shoulder,
as if hoping to remember why, moments ago,
he dressed and left his balcony with the belief
they were—these heavy lemons—something he needed,
On the Way to Panormo
Christopher Bakken
Christopher Bakken's fourth book of poetry, Driving the Beast, will be published in 2025 by Louisiana University Press. He is also the author of the culinary memoir, Honey, Olives, Octopus: Adventures at the Greek Table. Bakken teaches at Allegheny College and serves as Director of Writing Workshops in Greece: Thessaloniki and Thasos.