|
Cuba sneaks under my skin
like a sweaty sultry rash
a spooky sad itch
on its own terms
exploring & infiltrating
my moist membranes
its heady perfume
mystifies & intrigues me
smoke mirrors
dim reflections
dank sweet smell of dark alleys
mist walks the Malecon
wind & water pound the wall
ancient sentinel
forlorn island fortress
beautiful blue balcony
pillar & window
blue car
the blue Cuban street
evanescent shadows
shimmer in the drizzle
of halflit midnight on Calle Obispo
faded facade ghost
silhouettes sashay
stiletto cobblestones
skinny black beauties under umbrella
zigzag in the night rain
dance to rhythm of horse step
wagon wheel & clave
mambo of hip & high heel
Monsterrate Bar
Mojitos & Cristal
full moon & mint leaves
tourists with tall glasses line the bar
Castro TV broadcast
flagwaving & floodlights
another protest rally
uproar in Key West
revolution spinning out of control
the beautiful streets of Habana Vieja
skinny boys in tight jeans flirt
little confetti-colored cakes
inciting gay tourists
antique architecture crumbling
decrepit faded economics
painted peeling real estate
restoration co-venture reality
caving into what I wonder
whose ultimate face lift?
life lifted from squalor
forced relocation
a new somewhere home
Capitalismo
Socialismo
cat & mouse
Cuba libre
parlour game parties
Batista history museum
palatial guerilla warfare
sartorial aspects of the revolution
where machismo style finds dead Cubans
in a faded Macy's powder tin
where old eyeglasses & wallets reside
here polite school children
all neat & clean in their uniforms
sing songs in the street
marching to the bus
proletariat history hallways
leading back to slavery
Fidel's voice in the next room
video for sale around the corner
i'm drawn to a wonderful nightscape painting
naked couple
rooftop moonlight hovering
yellow crescent banana boat
floats
i imagine
the open sea
the Malecon
how blue can it be there
how deep the mystery
son montuno
tobacco
sugar
rum
taste Africa on the tongue
origins of lost dreams
wings of all mankind
seagull & sea goddess
wet humid island
floats with strange bedfellows
politics of prostitution
balance & poise
acrobat spinning on the head of a pin
spirit gives utterance
to hope & redemption
sing of beauty & light
that flutters from its cocoon
stir the boiling pots of melodies
slaves shipped
shackled to harvest
sway in fields of sugar cane
bitter & sweet
this soulful sexy song
shimmy shakes the world’s tailfeather
spiralling guaracha & guaguanco
rumba
bolero
son
guajira
chicken dance
you-name-it
whatever!
deep rhythm
grinding hip thing
ramshackle revolution reality
rebel spirit
lingers on streaked faded walls
castles of sweet confection dangle in air
a thin man in plaid shirt balances a cake
jostled shoppers do a doubletake
hallways sans electricity
haunting memories
wrought iron caress curliques
scaffolding without guile
strangely innocent lacking protection
palaces of relentless ruin
decayed wedding cakes
without doors or floors
solares offer no shelter from the storm
balconies open to the sun
laundry flung flies to dry
people wave behind bars
cages rattle "let me out"
candlelit patio dance parlour
taxi cabs honk & wave
plates of pork & greasy fries arrive
friends flow freely
with carbonated rum & coke
conversation curls with smoke
pouting lips
pantomime in spanglish
party in a shack
hips sway to well-oiled music
we squeeze into tiny Russian-era taxis
five people cruising low on petrol
door handle falls off
window won't roll
one working windshield wiper
it's pouring
soaked & squished on Steven's lap
passenger door flies open
hairpin turn on the flooded Malecon
please another street!
driver senses every dip
so I don’t go thru the windshield
saving his shock absorbers for another day
feeling strangely safe on these streets
only the dogs don't follow you in Cuba
the trail of bodily harm inflicted
is rationed out daily
strong spirits
thin bodies
willing flesh
like language languishes out of use
toils in the fragrant promise of paradise
sacrifice endures
La Lucha
a passionate people stay alive
thanks to the blessing
of fortunate placement on the equator
no one freezes to death while starving
copyright 2004
Cheryl
Beychok |
