Footsteps There was a knock on my door.I heard footsteps walking as Iopened it. My heart skipped a beat.I saw no one, only heard footstepswalk and walking away. I counteda thousand footsteps at least.I am known to embellish things.I fear … Continue reading →

Road Blocks I come uponevery red lightand road blockalong the way. If you are in a hurry,prepare for adversityand all the obstacleslife can throw at you. Monkey wrenches,pins and needles,that voodoo doll,and the worst trafficyou can imagine. Break-Up Song A … Continue reading →

Grow the Fruit Some grew the fruit, some paint it. Some grew the fruit. Some eat it. Hard at work with the harsh sun at their back, the workers toil. The painter at his workplace or her workplace, paints away. … Continue reading →

Dancing a WhirlwindA morning shower            barely has left a                        print on dry earth & now a bright breeze            dances joropo                        around us, around Mónico playing mandolin            his aged-mahogany face                        wrinkled in a tranquil smileAround cuatro & guitar            caja drum & maracas A bottle of cocuy passes ’round            an anciana sings, her                        cinnamon hands clappingWomen chat, adjusting costumes            a child cries                        & is comforted Rosa the singer & Luis            the spoon-player                        begin to dance amidst usFine soil billows ’round            their steps & twirls joropo – traditional music & dance of Venezuela, originating in the llanos regioncuatro – a four-string instrument like a small guitarcaja – boxcocuy – an alcoholic brew of a cactus plantanciana – old woman Golfo de Morrosquillo            (Tolú) Full moon rises above            tejas & thatch roofsThe gulf rolls evenly            around the breakwaters                        onto the grey sandA crab flees from            the rising tide Families take a dip            in the night-darkened waters                        stroll on the seawall, the beachThree boys play kickball            with a plastic bottle Along the malecón            scented by grilled foods                        people eat & drinkBicycle taxis pass &            horse-drawn carriages, the                        clop of hooves lost toMusic blaring from            restaurants & discosVendors spread their cloths            with jewellery, incense                        under streetlampsWomen yet corn-row            hair with quick molasses-                        coloured fingersSunglass salesmen walk            café to bar & the musicians still wander            accordion ’round neck, caja                        drum, guarachaca stick in hand Magdalena Sunset (Mompox, Colombia) Waterlilies float swiftly by on the river’s current.Bells clang for mass at Santa Bárbara church. In front of a colonial house on the river … Continue reading →