I wrote this poem at the Almassera Vella (The Old Olive Press) on a week with Matthew Sweeney which took place during the fiesta. The late Martin Lucas, Editor, accepted it for publication in Presence, and it appeared in issue 31.
Festes Patronals
float of the Virgin
her lights unplugged plugged in
as she sways downhill
smiling at Saints Cosmo and Damian:
the Rwandan priest
young girls carry
pots of basil on their heads –
the boys’ awkward hands
Dios es Amor
pavements streaked with candle wax
last back on the square
the old bachelor
and his Zimmer frame