Postcard from Neos Kosmos

The image was taken as I walk from the Neos Kosmos district into Koukaki in Athens, crossing the bridge alongside the straight, unbroken avenue of Andrea Siggrou, which links the city to the sea. 

The afternoon is tipping, and the light spreads warm tones across concrete, traffic, and movement. I meet the gaze of the great Greek-American Maria Callas, born far away yet always so closely bound to Greece. 

She, the doves, and the bridge — for a moment I stand still between past and present, between a city rushing onward and the voice that once filled opera houses around the world. The sun lingers with warmth.