In Barcelona, We Fight Lines
the perils of relying on
a tourist economy, eager
travelers all with the latest copy of
Things To Do & See Here
Hiking up our skirts
we clamber around
and above
Sagrada Familia
and Park Guelle,
the main attractions
of Gaudi’s lifeworks
in this sea city that smells
of fish in a red sauce
and stale beer, the sun
baking us all into the pavement
like shadows on a cyanotype:
You treat the paper
in such a way
with chemicals
that it becomes light
sensitive, catching
the outlines of objects
which burn and turn blue
as if etched in sun shadow.
On the last, impossible hill,
the breath short in our chests,
we are surprised
but oh so relieved that
they do not observe
siesta here and
we take a break
for Una cerveza, por favor,
and to unload our feelings
about your latest love
affair: Am I moving
too fast, do you think?
Passion, first and foremost,
your mother tongue,
the language in your head.
Ours.
Rita Anderson was Poetry Editor of the literary journal at University of New Orleans, and both of her poetry books: The Entropy of Rocketman (Finishing Line Press) and Watched Pots (A Lovesong to Motherhood) have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her work has won the Houston Poetry Festival, the Gerreighty Prize, the Robert F. Gibbons Poetry Award, the Cheyney Award, and an award from the Academy of American Poets. Contact Rita at her website www.rita-anderson.com.