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