For R

I watch the weather where I was
and where I want to be;
too cold for summer, too hot for winter,
too comfortable to be close to anywhere.

I’d stood at the sea’s entrance and
seen the smudge of Africa, nine miles
close, not knowing your blood, that it flows
from the other side.

So that’s why the words zanahoriaazúcar, taste so
sweet and alfombraalmohada, feel
like home.

But you wouldn’t understand.

Between a figment of memory
and a fragment of imagination
I begin to invent the past,
explain the future,
making the present a gift;
making it magic.

I crossed the Atlantic, dipped toes into the Pacific’s
east, Oriental Miss Columbus me.
Meanwhile you were on the west coast
of another kingdom.

We were strangers then.

Lean in, listen keen
to the drumming of my heart: that
all along this was a call
for you to come and take
me back to your Mediterranean Sea.

mediterranean-process-1


Header image: Emilio García. Aerial view of a beach in Tarifa on the southern tip of Spain, barely 14km away from Morocco.

This poem was birthed when I bought some Moorish-inspired coasters at a homewares store. It led me to ponder my fascination with the Mediterranean and the whole piece came together fairly seamlessly as I drew together other half-thoughts about my zig-zagged way from Spain to South America and the wanderlust that lingers with me still.

For non-Spanish speakers: zanahoria = carrot; azúcar = sugar; alfombra = carpet/rug; almohada = pillow. They’re all Spanish words of Arabic origin.

share
tweet
email
share
share

Join the conversation - let me know what you think

You May Also Like
Keep reading >

I Heart Spanish

Stumbled upon this short video and thought I would share it as an appetiser to a post I'm currently working on, about the Spanish language. It's just famous people saying their favourite Spanish word but it made me disproportionately happy :)
Black and white photo of a young Asian woman hugging her legs and looking at the camera.
Keep reading >

About my body

One of the differences I’ve noticed between Bolivia and Ecuador is that people don’t stare at me here.…