Ruth Holzer

The Hanging Gardens Café

In a little place tucked away at the end of Via Gregoriana, I used to meet a poet who spoke a harmonious mélange of French and Greek. Over cups of bitter coffee, he would tell me stories of the war, the occupation and the resistance. His face gathered shadows as night approached. A fresh breeze fanned in from the west; fronds and flowers swayed, cascading fragrance down the ancient walls. Before he returned to his country, he asked me to join him, but I didn’t. Now and then I still wonder what happened to Yannis and who he really was.

blending right in with them tourists tourists

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About the Author

Ruth Holzer‘s short-form poems have appeared in Atlas Poetica, cho, frogpond, Modern Haiku, Presence, red lights, Ribbons, and many anthologies. She has served as a co-editor of Haibun Today and assistant editor of tinywords. She has published five chapbooks of free verse and ghazals. Her first haibun collection, Home and Away, was published in 2021 by dancing girl press.