Acerca de
IMPRESSIONS
The Compound
​
A Veranda
bricks still warm from the afternoon sun
​
Countertops
tiled in pristine blue, a cross/mix between sky and Baltic blue
Secluded in the city
surrounded by lush trees and vegetation
The guards standing in the shadows
have almost disappeared
they tarry on the periphery
Quiet
Unspoken words on their tongues
Beyond the compound walls
are fields after a fashion
​
Aloe or Guava fruits I think
They drink up the ocean
then spit it out
at once, they guzzle river water
The water today is brown
the man who lives here warned us not to drink it
He promises it’ll be fine soon
“Let it settle”, like cocoa leaves
There are 3 scraggly chickens
in the yard
their legs mis-shaped/crippled
but they don’t seem to mind
dirty white, their red cocks combs
stand out like bloody tongues
There are no children here
not in the markets downtown either
I asked the man about them
he said, “Better not to ask”
So I don’t.
There’s an exotic bird in a cage
he lives in the back yard
good sized, with golden spotted feathers
what a Leopard would look like if he could fly
When the late afternoon sun arrives
my job is to water the stallion and mule
The Stallion is Grande, chestnut yellow
The Mule is his companion
The man comes and goes
sometimes for months at a time
Mostly I stay
​
Here memories are like dry dust in the heat
but back home, they are dark
Oh, so terribly dark
​
CHILD'S
PLAY
tempura
periwinkle paint
child’s play
my fingers are covered
drying
it cracks my skin
The wells between
my fingers are screaming
Just one more thing
Yellow’s yellow
Too bright for song birds
I’ll make a hat
for “Tweety bird”
But I’ve got Blue grass
Blue glass
shaped like a sparrow
Old wives tale
say’s it’s the Blue Bird of Happiness
can’t say for sure
but it’s constant
Hope
is so fragile
But I’ve got Blue grass in mind
Old wives tale
represents the Blue Bird of Happiness
blue glass
shaped like a sparrow
Can’t say for sure
but it’s constant
Hope
is so fragile
​