By Paula Renee Burzawa
Chicago, ILL.

Vasara
Our home away.
So far across the world you breathe
Strong and beautiful
Never changing.

Vasara
Our ideal paradise
Your hills tell a thousand years of history
And echo the voices of generations past.
You hold our ancestry.
You hold our hearts.
You hold our promise to return.

Vasara
Your charming streets lead to houses full of memories
And faces that time cannot erase.
We see our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents.
Agia Triatha, the top of your peak
Standing firm to protect, to proclaim, we are here.

Vasara
The core of who we are and who we want to be
As descendants of your being we are proud and we are strong
We carry your spirit within our souls
And stay close to your uniqueness.
No other place is quite the same.
No other village quite so sweet.

Vasara
Our first love
Our first home
Our most desired place on Earth.

OUR XORIO, OUR VASSARA

It’s the smell of different φούρνοι
Cooking big meals in the late morning
It’s the sound of bells that clang as
a heard of goats rounds the corner.

It’s mothers hanging out their childrens clothes
To dry in the hot summer sun.
It’s feeling Κουλουρι’ς chilling breeze
In the evening.

It’s why your heart skips a beat
The first time you see Αγια-Τριάδα
After being gone all winter.

It’s the blue bus from Sparti
That enters the platia
At the same time every day.

It’s the τραχανά drying on everyone’s balcony
It’s the happy children running around
With the ice cream in their hands
Γύρω-γύρω στην πλατεία.

It’s Αγιος Γεώργιος incredibly loud bell
Which rings on Sunday morning
to get us all out of bed for church.

It’s the yung παλικάρια playing
A game of soccer at the γήπεδο.

It’s the flame at Κουτσοκοτσου’ς
Beginning an evening’s supply of σουβλάκια.

It’s how you feel the first time
you see a moon rise at Κούλουρι.

It’s why you can spend an entire day
Playing τάβλι under a tree at Χριστάκι’ς.

It’s the reason you keep your eye on airfairs
To Greece come Springtime.

It’s why you tell everyone when you leave
That for certain you’ll be back next year
Even if you’re not to sure.

It’s why your throat has a lump in it
If you’re not in ΒΑΣΣΑΡΑ on August 23nd.

These are just a few of the many things
that draw us all closer, no matter how long
it’s been since we’ve seen one another
no matter how many summers pass
we return to our village.