Miracles are a miraculous belief
in a higher power, fed by the leaders
for the good of the people

There are still eyewitnesses here
ignorant of the truth
of other witnesses

honest people who also
survived the disaster
of the volcanic eruption

that buried Knossos and
destroyed the fleet, but
their voices do not reach far

outside the harbour towns
not into the country
where shepherds roam

and peasants kneel
sacrificing to the gods
of their grandparents and believing

in their own grand stories, clever
combinations of old events
and precious memories

half-truths, healed
by omitting parts, accrediting some
and by diverting attention

It is the tradition, sanctified
by the master illusionist
who the leaders collectively are