I’m writing from la finca
where Frederico offers us
another shot of Johnny Walker red
manana, he says, you never know,
you may be sick or dead
you see those vultures
watching from the trees
they’re waiting
the soup is almost ready
the chicharron is crisp
the horses saddled for our pleasure
their stirrups shaped like leather shoes
lazy cattle amble on the plain
prodded by gauchos in stiff white hats
near the crisscrossed stacks of wood
the rancheros set off fireworks
los diez hermanos de Juigalpa
lined up by the whitewashed wall
play chicheros
the tuba-player’s cheeks bright red
the brass trumpets blaring
like the angels’ herald
Frederico’s daughter
wears behind her ear
a white orchard
plucked from the riverbank
she gathers the ends
of her bright purple dress
and waving them back and forth
like a toreador taunting the bull
egged on by the cries of the crowd
she begins to dance
Art Heifetz teaches ESL to refugees in Richmond Va. He has published nearly 150 poems in 11 countries and won second prize in the Reuben Rose international competition in Israel.
See polishedbrasspoems.com for more of his work.
–Art by Mario Mencacci