{"id":20659,"date":"2025-09-28T20:00:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T01:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/?p=20659"},"modified":"2025-09-30T15:20:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T20:20:33","slug":"redefinition-taverna-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/redefinition-taverna-row\/","title":{"rendered":"Redefinition &amp; Taverna Row"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"wp-block-social-links is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-social-links-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-facebook  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61556140010887\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12 2C6.5 2 2 6.5 2 12c0 5 3.7 9.1 8.4 9.9v-7H7.9V12h2.5V9.8c0-2.5 1.5-3.9 3.8-3.9 1.1 0 2.2.2 2.2.2v2.5h-1.3c-1.2 0-1.6.8-1.6 1.6V12h2.8l-.4 2.9h-2.3v7C18.3 21.1 22 17 22 12c0-5.5-4.5-10-10-10z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n\n<li class=\"wp-social-link wp-social-link-instagram  wp-block-social-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/boudin_mcneese\/\" class=\"wp-block-social-link-anchor\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M12,4.622c2.403,0,2.688,0.009,3.637,0.052c0.877,0.04,1.354,0.187,1.671,0.31c0.42,0.163,0.72,0.358,1.035,0.673 c0.315,0.315,0.51,0.615,0.673,1.035c0.123,0.317,0.27,0.794,0.31,1.671c0.043,0.949,0.052,1.234,0.052,3.637 s-0.009,2.688-0.052,3.637c-0.04,0.877-0.187,1.354-0.31,1.671c-0.163,0.42-0.358,0.72-0.673,1.035 c-0.315,0.315-0.615,0.51-1.035,0.673c-0.317,0.123-0.794,0.27-1.671,0.31c-0.949,0.043-1.233,0.052-3.637,0.052 s-2.688-0.009-3.637-0.052c-0.877-0.04-1.354-0.187-1.671-0.31c-0.42-0.163-0.72-0.358-1.035-0.673 c-0.315-0.315-0.51-0.615-0.673-1.035c-0.123-0.317-0.27-0.794-0.31-1.671C4.631,14.688,4.622,14.403,4.622,12 s0.009-2.688,0.052-3.637c0.04-0.877,0.187-1.354,0.31-1.671c0.163-0.42,0.358-0.72,0.673-1.035 c0.315-0.315,0.615-0.51,1.035-0.673c0.317-0.123,0.794-0.27,1.671-0.31C9.312,4.631,9.597,4.622,12,4.622 M12,3 C9.556,3,9.249,3.01,8.289,3.054C7.331,3.098,6.677,3.25,6.105,3.472C5.513,3.702,5.011,4.01,4.511,4.511 c-0.5,0.5-0.808,1.002-1.038,1.594C3.25,6.677,3.098,7.331,3.054,8.289C3.01,9.249,3,9.556,3,12c0,2.444,0.01,2.751,0.054,3.711 c0.044,0.958,0.196,1.612,0.418,2.185c0.23,0.592,0.538,1.094,1.038,1.594c0.5,0.5,1.002,0.808,1.594,1.038 c0.572,0.222,1.227,0.375,2.185,0.418C9.249,20.99,9.556,21,12,21s2.751-0.01,3.711-0.054c0.958-0.044,1.612-0.196,2.185-0.418 c0.592-0.23,1.094-0.538,1.594-1.038c0.5-0.5,0.808-1.002,1.038-1.594c0.222-0.572,0.375-1.227,0.418-2.185 C20.99,14.751,21,14.444,21,12s-0.01-2.751-0.054-3.711c-0.044-0.958-0.196-1.612-0.418-2.185c-0.23-0.592-0.538-1.094-1.038-1.594 c-0.5-0.5-1.002-0.808-1.594-1.038c-0.572-0.222-1.227-0.375-2.185-0.418C14.751,3.01,14.444,3,12,3L12,3z M12,7.378 c-2.552,0-4.622,2.069-4.622,4.622S9.448,16.622,12,16.622s4.622-2.069,4.622-4.622S14.552,7.378,12,7.378z M12,15 c-1.657,0-3-1.343-3-3s1.343-3,3-3s3,1.343,3,3S13.657,15,12,15z M16.804,6.116c-0.596,0-1.08,0.484-1.08,1.08 s0.484,1.08,1.08,1.08c0.596,0,1.08-0.484,1.08-1.08S17.401,6.116,16.804,6.116z\"><\/path><\/svg><span class=\"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text\">Instagram<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Donna J. Gelagotis Lee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Redefinition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">An adopted country lends, and demands<br>a down payment, which is your initiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Language rolls on the tongue and slips<br>into memory. It carries with it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">a past new to you.<br>You believe in the future<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">because it has not yet come.<br>All the colors of the country: paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The abstraction your reality.<br>What comes out of your mouth<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">would have been unrecognizable to you<br>in your past. A country holds its history out<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">like a present that cannot be given.<br>Either you have it or you don\u2019t\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">it is your birthright.<br>What surrounds you now, but a story<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">of an ancient people\u2019s progress? What<br>will you claim here? The men take the fish<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">from the sea. Women turn over the earth<br>with their bare hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">You will never be like them.<br>But you really don\u2019t believe that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Anything is possible in your re-<br>definition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:25px\"><strong>Taverna Row<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">They press the flat<br>gold like<br>a wafer between<br>their fingers. To be sure<br>they are worth it. Roped<br>wrists, necks strung. Rings<br>holding onto tapered fingers.<br>From these hands,<br>puffs of smoke spiral,<br>each movement deliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The curtain calls,<br><em>mesim\u00e9ri<\/em>, taverna<br>row. Children skip<br>between tables. Lamb chops<br>raw on the butcher block. Cases<br>show cut meat, purple eggplant, hard<br>zucchini, ripe tomatoes, cucumbers,<br>and plump rounds of lettuce.<br>The steam of the grill<br>escapes into the street. Cooks<br>work late, their wives<br>in the heat of some other<br>kitchen. Stray cats mingle<br>beneath the tables. Roma girls<br>bring flowers they have wrapped<br>roadside, their smiles set to sell. From<br>the boisterous tongues of Greek men,<br>fat smoke and threads of<br>meat. <em>Kras\u00ed<\/em> warms<br>the table. Red smiles<br>push the corners of their<br>faces. With glances downward,<br>they lift themselves.<br>The waiter maneuvers in.<br>Plates, forks, knives, spoons, glasses<br>crash in cacophony, the corner edges<br>of the tablecloth meeting as though he<br>were folding a dinner napkin.<br>The wily sunset.<br>The unkept promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">__________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Donna J. Gelagotis Lee<\/strong> is the author of two collections of poetry, <em>Intersection on Neptune<\/em> (The Poetry Press of Press Americana, 2019), winner of the Prize Americana for Poetry 2018, and <em>On the Altar of Greece<\/em> (Gival Press, 2006), winner of the 2005 Gival Press Poetry Award. Her poetry has appeared in numerous journals internationally, including <em>Cimarron Review<\/em>, <em>Feminist Studies<\/em>, <em>The Massachusetts Review<\/em>, <em>Southern Humanities Review<\/em>, and <em>Women\u2019s Studies Quarterly<\/em>. Her website is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.donnajgelagotislee.com\/\">www.donnajgelagotislee.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>__________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1.jpg 438w, https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/01\/boudin-logo-1-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\">&lt;&lt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/back-then-they-let-us-sift-through-broken-glass\/\">Back<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/blue-wheelchair-pinata\/\">Next<\/a> &gt;&gt;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">To learn more about submitting your work to <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/boudin-submissions\/\">Boudin<\/a><\/em> or applying to McNeese State University&#8217;s Creative Writing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/mfa-application-submissions\/\">MFA program<\/a>, please visit Submissions for details.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donna J. Gelagotis Lee __________ Redefinition An adopted country lends, and demandsa down payment, which is your initiation. Language rolls on the tongue and slipsinto memory. It carries with it a past new to you.You believe in the future because it has not yet come.All the colors of the country: paint. The abstraction your reality.What&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238],"tags":[75,145,18],"class_list":["post-20659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kaleidoscopes-sep-25","tag-boudin","tag-poetry-2","tag-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20659"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20945,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20659\/revisions\/20945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mcneese.edu\/thereview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}