Diego Isaias Hernández Méndez, Convirtiéndose en characoteles / Sorcerers Changing into Their Animal Forms (detail), 2013, oil on canvas. Arte Maya Tz’utujil Collection.
Body and Soul
There is a joke it goes in Greece
that summer there was a futbol
match and the husband had
lost his lady. BITCH he shouted
after her WHORE WOMAN HEY YOU
BITCH. Greece is civilized
the cop said call your wife
by name. I can’t the man
said. Call her name
the cop said. Not allowed
the man said. Call her name I said the cop
said if you don’t the man said in the Greek futbol
stadium he said
ELEUTHERIAAAAAAAAA
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Olga Broumas is the author of numerous books of poetry, including Beginning With O (Yale University, 1977) and Sappho’s Gymnasium (Copper Canyon, 2000). She is currently the Poet-in-Residence as well as the Director of Creative Writing at Brandeis University. (updated 6/2010)