A Spaniards Cross

Power,to kill

A Spaniards cross, their inquisition ,their bull fight,
Bold matador ,clinically clean etched art in line with her
heart,the tip, a point, a culture to pierce between
The bull,between the horns, between the blades.
Raised to die.... A spectacle.
Special opportunity, to be a bull,to run the alley,to stomp a
drunk,
To die, a spectacle .

A Spaniards cross, she carries those genes,
inside her,
her hips, a matadors storm,
Dark eyed fire,

Black the electric stove top burner,
Small the meat of the child's thumb,
Branded now by the dark burner.
Buttered, to keep the heat in,the scar clear.

The intent?
Indifference.
A Spaniards cross he carries penned in his soul.

to set her cross down,to forgive,to undo the spectacle,to love, to laugh,to smile

Honor their Mother, Honor his Father......
Their weight of pride in me,through me,
Me the cannon fodder.
Raised by her "genes"
Leveled  by her "genes"

Author's Note

Yesterday, The running of the bulls in Pamplona , connection , "Wild Bill" who was gored by a horn in the thigh .

Reviews

[Marie Anzalone]

Recently, a genetic link to the ability to feel happiness was discovered, as was a single specific and intermittant chemical imbalance responsible for suicides. It made me wonder how many other human traits- cruelty, humor, etc. can fit into those spaces between amino acids and sugars? Your lines of a matador's hips and precision... make me wonder how much of it is culture, how much passed on... and how much it has to do with the famed ability of the Spanish as lovers?

[fireblossom]

Let me see your thumb.

Shimmering vision. The Spaniards whether by nationality or by ilk, by the spectacle show us who we are, remind us we are alive by the razor red with blood. Where is the edge today I wonder? Are we plump growths wobbling to our end?

Phase two: Forgive those who came before. Of whom we are tattooed spawn slipping and sliding our way toward the best we can be for this time in the sun.

Writing cut loose from the deep tells us some things worth hearing. Thank you for this poem.

[lee von cleef]

My Left,Plump a scar of youth, truth to remind the mortal part of me, I am only man, doing the best I can. Thank you.

[Girl Friday (Sarah W.)]

Raised by her "genes"
Leveled by her "genes" -- of this entire beautifully orchestrated piece, these were the lines that hit me the hardest, cut me the deepest.

For what are we if not the product of our ancestry? What are we if not our heritage? What do we have when all else is lost? You speak in tangible images that are woven into insurmountable tapestries of color and intricacy that I cannot begin to understand their full meaning in just one sitting...like a box of chocolates...there is no joy if you eat them all at once. I shall read this one again...and perhaps again.

[lee von cleef]

Thank you, This poem is thick, but you are right like eating the Elephant , one bite at a time.

[Keith]

Interesting story. You set the scene, the background of your passionate spanish heritage, then bring it to a recent event and then this self description that flows.

Honor their Mother, Honor his Father......
Their weight of pride in me,through me,
Me the cannon fodder.
Raised by her "genes"
Leveled by her "genes"

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i was and am quite taken by the wording and progression of story in this one.

really intriguing write.

a mixture of emotion.

jacob

[lee von cleef]

Thank you for stopping, I was , I am , amazed by the running of the Bulls, and the Bull fight as it is such a whole emotion , one we as Americans exhibit through genetics ,and perhaps the "Cruel" way we interact with each-other, Maybe a "Bow- Hunter" has some of their art, I will have to keep thinking.....

[jacob erin-cilberto]

we certainly can be cruel to each other, that is such a truth.

[lee von cleef]

Thanks Lee, here you bring a very poignant write to mention, in this gracefully put down piece. A nice piece of prose as well as many aspects of (also) my Spain.
Thank you for sharing, you describe the passionate Spaniard, in many ways perfectly.

- Elisa

[lee von cleef]

Thank you , Spain wow, what a whirl- wind wild almost western cowboy culture ! Makes me smile...

LOL it is, it is... When I'm in my country I hate the Netherlands, and when I'm back I miss Spain... yet, I miss my Asia too, blegh, too many roots, can tear a person appart LOL

[Sami Khalil]

One word : Awesome...:)...

[David Scott]

Interesting lee.
I found myself wondering at the hips of the matador. The bull does not watch the direction the hips sway or the horn would find the flesh. The banner of the cross catches the attention and dooms the rushing bull.
Now, this brother/sister thing could be innocent or darkly incestuous. Maybe my mind goes macabre at times so forgive me. In this frame of mind, the write is darkly fascinating.
A well worded puzzle.

[Cherrie Palmer]

Raised to perfection honored in death but for being what they are no more no less. Lee, You can turn a phrase. I loved it.