THE SHOPPING BASKET
Love Story
He’s been wandering around the city for days,
wants to gift me a loop of sounds,
contained heartbeats of a dancer
who lives unconsciously
in a small cardboard box
and spins to “Love Story”
within a world that spins her
in a space that infinitely spills
bubbles of time that stretch and shrink,
freeze and kill.
He’s already given me a bracelet,
a ring and an hourglass,
a movie ticket to the moon,
things that fall from the sky
he puts in a jar,
and Sampedro’s Blank Days.
He’s come from far away,
for my love he’s left behind
his world,
the sawdust and science
for a poetic compass,
for a dancer
who can’t dance tango.
I’ve given him hummus,
guacamole, melon, gazpacho,
eggplant burgers,
bread, artichokes, a landscape of sand,
a tiger’s eye, deodorant,
a star with her full name,
a t-shirt, my favorite visor,
Montero’s Almudena,
a trip to his grandparents’ land,
and a beer with lemon
and my dogs
and almost all my free time.
We’ve gone shopping
tomatoes, apples, watermelons,
laughed at the café,
lost his wallet with his savings,
enjoyed the best doggy park
and therefore the best park for superhumans who love dogs,
and on the tree log by the Ebro river
where finally we’ll stay
we have.
Had “patatas bravas”
begged the spiciness
we have,
danced in Gallarza Park
hugged like no one else
we have,
greeted the dogs,
chatted with their people
we have
put the stars to bed
dreamed of a “forever”
we have...
A magnifying glass
for one of my paintings,
we’ve been big and eternal,
terrible and ephemeral
and now we are
the best poem,
the ripest fruit,
so much, so us...
© Maria Luisa Arenzana Magaña
