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Cyprus 

July 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the
invasion of part of Cyprus by Turkey

Land of my birth you’re blessed with gifts divine
Of loveliness and beauty hard to find,
Where Aphrodite from your sea did rise
To taste the nectar of your air sublime.

Cyprus, where the sweet scent of jasmine vies
With fragrant basil, citrus and with thyme,
Of abundant fruit from luscious vines,
Home of ambrosia and of ruby wine.

Your twinkling stars as numerous as the sand
And where flute-playing shepherds filled the land,
Where joyful bells from whitewashed chapels chimed,
All silenced now replaced by strangled cries;

Alas, for years enslaved by cut-throat beasts
Whose blood-red flag in Christian blood is steeped.

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Maria Panayi was born in Cyprus before the Turkish invasion but now lives in the UK as her former home is under occupation. She and her husband as well as all their extended families have been denied the right to live in their homes. The church  of St. Nicholas that she attended  as a child is now a mosque. She is now retired after working for many years supporting children with special education needs.

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19 Responses

  1. Gigi Ryan

    Maria,
    The beauty described as your poem unfolds bursts heartbreakingly in the last three lines. The stark contrast between the two parts of the poem is fitting to communicate the loss and pain that still remains for you and many others. I am sorry.
    Thank you for sharing this heart borne poem.
    Gigi

    Reply
    • Maria

      Gigi, Sincere thank you for your very kind comment. I am at last beginning to understand the healing power of poetry but to receive comments like these , it is such a bonus. Thank you.

      Reply
  2. Roy Eugene Peterson

    This is a moving poem that details the results of the occupation of Turkey that largely has been forgotten over the decades. I had no idea that the pain persists and that you are forbidden to return to your former home.

    Reply
    • Maria

      Thank you so much Roy for reading and taking the time to post such a thoughtful comment. It is amazing that a wound that doesn’t heal seems to get worse rather than better as time goes by. It is the very opposite of what we expect despite our best efforts to move on. Thank you for taking the time to read and to comment, it means a lot.

      Reply
  3. Rohini

    Maria! I loved your beautiful, heart wrenching poem. I have visited Cyprus (both North & South) such a jewel of a country. Thank you for your poem.

    Reply
    • Maria

      Rohini thank you! It is amazing that with all the beautiful places in the world there is really no place like home.

      Reply
  4. Margaret Coats

    What legendary charm flows from these tender lines on your homeland, Maria! We understand why Aphrodite, representing love and beauty, is called “the Cyprian.” Yes, Cyprus is the home of ambrosia, the food of the gods, which might be likened to the pure flute melodies of ancient shepherds joined to the sound of bells from beautiful white chapels standing above the Mediterranean, telling of God whose coming gave Greek culture its ultimate transcendence. The last lines paint a horrifying picture of current Christian martyrdom. As devastating as it is, this too will redound to the glory of Cyprus in eternity, even as it calls for other Christians not to accept it and tolerate it today.

    Line 7 seems to need a little refinement to conform to the iambic pentameter of the other lines. I would suggest:

    Of aBUNdant CORdial GRAPES from LUSCious VINES

    I thought quite a bit about the best word or words to replace “fruit.” I like this because “cordial” derives from the Greek “kardia” for “heart.”

    Lovely, long-awaited poem that comes from long-suffering feelings you have expressed in a number of comments, Maria. Glad to see it, and sorry for the continued suffering.

    Reply
    • Maria

      Dear Margaret, Please see below for my reply which was meant to be here!

      Reply
  5. Maria

    How can I adequately respond to such a beautiful comment dear Margaret!
    Your revision of line 7 takes it to another level altogether.
    But your encouraging words on Cyprus have left me in joyful tears.
    With all my knowledge of Greek I never associated cordial with Kardia.
    But your words have indeed been a cordial. This is why I love the SCP so much. It is the reason I have come close to writing a decent poem and you and all the other poets here have been mentors and role models . Thank you.

    Reply
  6. Adam Sedia

    The Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus is one of those massive injustices that the west has found it convenient to ignore. Much like the Armenian Genocide, the Turks seem to escape being held accountable for their crimes. I think much of it has to do with its outdated role as a NATO “ally,” laughable as that term may be.

    I’m glad someone has brought the issue to greater attention with a poem, and who better than a Cypriot who knows firsthand the suffering at the Turks’ hands?

    Thank you for sharing this.

    Reply
    • Maria

      Thank you Adam, for reading and for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate it . I have found that massive injustices to small and weak nations may be ignored but that somehow that sends a message that reverberates and comes back to haunt in many different ways. Of course I may be wrong but that is how I see things.

      Reply
  7. Sally Cook

    Injustice such as this should never be forgotten. No doubt there is money somewhere at the bottom of it all. Thanks for bringing your poem to SCP.

    Reply
    • Maria

      Thank you so much for commenting Sally. Yes I agree, injustices should never be forgotten not just for the sake of the victims but also for the sake of maintaining belief in justice itself.
      Your comment has also made me think that just like love and marriage ,
      land and money seem to go together like a horse and carriage. I know , funny how the mind works. I like to think it is the poetic side to us!

      Reply
  8. Joseph S. Salemi

    In 1915, Great Britain (the ruling colonial power) offered Cyprus to Greece if Greece would join the war on the side of the allies. King Constantine refused.

    If he had said yes, Cyprus would have become part of Greece (what is called “enosis”) at the Versailles treaty conference, when Turkey as a loser of the war was stripped of much territory. The island would have been permanently reunited with Greece, just as Crete is.

    Reply
    • Maria

      Thank you for your very thought provoking comment. Although I had heard of this before I haven’t really researched it. On further reading and thank you for this, as usual SCP always requires us to do our homework, I have found that King Constantine’s queen was a German princess. His stance led to a civil war or a schism. Of course the royal family was never Greek. In 1974 his grandson’s errors ( also named Constantine) left the door open for Turkey to invade. Then they were deposed.
      It appears to be a universal rule that whenever a country is misgoverned the enemy is always there, ready to strike.

      Reply
  9. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Maria, this striking poem engages all the senses in capturing the wonder, beauty, and culture of a country horribly wronged… the closing two stanzas are all the starker after reading of such splendor. It puts me in mind of the plight of Western civilization – where we were and where we are heading. Maria, thank you!

    Reply
    • Maria

      Dear Susan thank you so much for your very kind comment, it means a lot to me that you like the poem and that you see the injustice.
      With regard to western civilisation, I hope and pray that it is not too late and that the situation will take a turn for the better. The problem is that the majority of people do not see the urgency of it. Or if they do believe that they can do nothing about it.

      Reply
  10. Daniel Kemper

    This stanza was quite transporting:

    “Cyprus, where the sweet scent of jasmine vies
    With fragrant basil, citrus and with thyme,
    Of abundant fruit from luscious vines,
    Home of ambrosia and of ruby wine.”

    I feel the tragedy of the perpetually invasive Islamic rules. When will it ever stop?

    Reply
    • Maria

      Thank you so much Daniel for your very kind comment about the poem.
      Sometimes thinking about the present situation does get overwhelming so apologies for not replying sooner.

      Reply

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