BARRIO SANTIAGO

Jerez de la Frontera

 

In the catherdral shadow

a woman peels limes

then washes them

at the blue fountain

as an angry sun burns

shapes on stone.

 

From dark passages

a bright guitar

emerges into afternoon,

arpeggios glittering

across the water

like momentary fish.

 

It predicts your path

past broken balconies,

ragged skirts, old statues,

its cypress, ebony

and rosewood painting

the glint of domes.

 

Beckons you on

as it dances down streets

where incense drifts

and red bricks are crumbling

into a well of memories

then stops mute

 

before the avalanche

of Santiago's ancient

molten bells.

 

Published in Dream Catcher 36 January 2018