Preamble

Two limestone plates support the Aegean world.
The greater Anatolian still lies flat,
But half an eon past, through silent eyes:
           ‘Ave!’
God watched the counterplate subside, until
Only its top and mountain tops remained
Above His brother, Lord Poseidon’s, sea:
           ‘And that, I shall call Greece. And those,
Her Archipelago,’ said He. Then turned away
To hear Apollo and the Nine perform
Of Creation, from the stage at Table Bay.

           They enter. They attend. They bow.
The Lord of Light and Mice gives them their note.
           And then they sing:

           ‘In the beginning there was no Beginning,
           And in the end, no End ...’