Spanish Haiku: Palimpsestuous  |  Ted Frisbie

Cordoba

The Mezquita of

Cordoba; listing giant

standing on tip-toes.

The double arch tricks

the eye, making air appear

to support stone.

Labyrinth of streets

without, double arches wind

within; Cordoba.

Oranges fall to the

cobbled streets. They run a way

or are run over.

Cathedral protrudes

hoping to arch higher than

the Muslim legion.

Seville

Christians fought for this

many years just to live in

the Muslims' palace?

Fernando "the saint"

fought his crusade, yet left the

Arabic intact?

Love the sinner, hate

the sin; kill the Muslims, keep

their calligraphy.

Cadiz

A kiss on each cheek,

and the captured pigeon struts

away in freedom.

Wide-whale corduroy

of the Andalusian

olive groves slip past.

Even sunflowers

are beaten by the heat of

Andalusia.

heads bent, faces down

sunflowers surrender their

lives to fallen seeds.

A burned out church or

warehouse?  The skeleton frame

supports nesting storks.

Granada

Swirling stucco plants

lace the walls, being Allah's

name like precious fruit.

ceramic tile and

stucco walls clothe her beauty,

like a butterfly.

When seven heavens

unfolded upon themselves;

Al-hambra ceilings. 

Each tessera laid

gently in place to become

Allah's fingerprint.

Stucco filigree

filters harsh sun and houses

screaming sparrow chicks.

Valencia

a row of scooters

huddles nose to rear to keep

themselves in the shade.

statues tower in

frozen postures of passion-

a trapped bird panics.

Vaulted ceilings hold

the passion of the saints at bay;

a sparrow escapes.

Barcelona

Who knew that in his

whimsy, Gaudi was making

apartments for smurfs?

cement comes to life

alongside reassembled

bits of broken tile.

Do clear plastic bra

straps lead down under blouses

to clear plastic cups?

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