COMMANDARIA
by Christos Kalli
Long before water, long before the rain, we drank straight
out of the wounds of god herself.
No need for a glass, it was poured into the hands
of thirst, into the holiest throats.
You could drown even the biggest sorrows in it––
purple sister, split knee, crushed bones.
You could even see Aphrodite looking back
from her foamy throne.
Some call this Commandaria, but in a sun-dried village
without a cork,
it was known as liquid light, moon breath, commander
of the nerves and nights.
Until the colonizers came, more dust than men, saliva-less,
looking for the country’s breast.
They say you can’t conquer a land until you drink
every drop of its wine first.
Placental blood, enough and thick enough to build
a house, flowed in the streets.
And history, that liver we dump our liquids in, that river
boats float on and sink.
out of the wounds of god herself.
No need for a glass, it was poured into the hands
of thirst, into the holiest throats.
You could drown even the biggest sorrows in it––
purple sister, split knee, crushed bones.
You could even see Aphrodite looking back
from her foamy throne.
Some call this Commandaria, but in a sun-dried village
without a cork,
it was known as liquid light, moon breath, commander
of the nerves and nights.
Until the colonizers came, more dust than men, saliva-less,
looking for the country’s breast.
They say you can’t conquer a land until you drink
every drop of its wine first.
Placental blood, enough and thick enough to build
a house, flowed in the streets.
And history, that liver we dump our liquids in, that river
boats float on and sink.
Christos Kalli studied American Literature at the University of Cambridge. His poems have appeared in or are forthcoming from Ninth Letter, the Adroit Journal, the National Poetry Review, the American Journal of Poetry, Faultline, the minnesota review, PANK, The Hollins Critic, Harpur Palate, and Dunes Review, among others. His chapbook INT. NIGHT / Nightscarred was a finalist for the Sutra Press Chapbook Contest (2017/2019). From 2017 to 2019, he has served on the editorial board of the Adroit Journal and now he is an Associate Poetry Editor for Stirring. Visit him at christoskalli.com