Santurce

A Poem by Frontier

About exploring an urban part of town, in Puerto Rico.

Three steps from the train station and one is greeted by abandoned buildings covered in graffiti, lending them a still-life quality, ironic since it seemed they had never been alive. I set my gaze and my direction forward, in a straight line, and start walking, knowing that I had to remain extra alert to my surroundings. The monotonous hum of the cars allow me to absorb everything more fully. Suddenly I'm interrupted by a person singing with their windows down, splashing the moving picture with a dream-like quality. Her voice and soul seemed to be carried on by the relentless advance of the urban flow.

To my left I suddenly pass a small barber-shop, people sitting, waiting on plastic chairs, the looks on their faces; a strange mix of hopeful hopelessness. The abrasive sound of the AC’s jutting out of shops greeted my ears, as I walked by dark, dingy-looking “colmados”. An old looking cat appears before my path, looking a bit frightened, I was sure he was looking for his next snoozing spot.

To my right appeared a bus stop in which an old man was sitting, singing, seemingly more from custom than from conviction. At that point I was sweating and thirsty. I came across a place called Libros AC. Mostly twenty-something’s typing away on their laptops, guys and girls, dark-rimmed glasses, facial hair, white faces, red lips and black bangs, or what I’m guessing we call hipsters. I stopped to look at a rack, lots of comic books with quirky little monster drawings.

After refreshing myself I stepped out and kept walking. I saw a big pink building that said “Departamento de la Salud”, and yes you may have guessed, it was abandoned and covered in graffiti, and not the good kind. It was a bit of a shame, the only life at the spot was a big old tree in the corner, I could almost hear it whispering “I told you so, I told you so…”