El Retiro del Verano – Poem

El Retiro del Verano – Poem and Photography by: Erickson

Friendship, beautiful and brief as a rose petal. 
The flowers line the walkways-
Candy apple red sprouts from rich dark greens.

Paths of raised stones litter the journey- 
Gray yet bold and protruding.

I step on stone:
Winds whisper again 
And deaf ears reanimate. 

Home lingers on red lips.
Murmurs offer a sizzling sensation, 
and I rush to be absorbed.
But the barriers are strong. 

Warm weather lowers some peoples’ guards, 
Yet Summer kissed me.
She left the tang of beach balls 
and roasting sand upon my senses.
She chose me with
A cinnamon icy tingle.
Sprinkled onto churros con chocolate. 

What does it mean to be sweet?
Some people know what a peach feels like,
When a beautiful winter encapsulates the orange fruit.
A white tundra shuts his eyes, 
and rips the leaves from his plant, 
until he is buried whole.

Therefore, I melt in the first light of Summer.
Shadows had morphed my worshipped temple.
The sun faded. 
One by one the steps of the Great Pyramids were blurred
Into a two-dimensional image. 
My relationships rubbed like charcoal into a smear. 

The seasons resume their slow motion.
Red returns to my face.
My words have been stolen.
Yet, I return to speak.

Broken Spanish
Is fine China – 
Still intact.
Held together
By smiles – 
Practicar sin ingles.

Speaking to new friends,
As beautiful and brief 
as a rose petal-
To begin again.

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