La Diosa Rubia

For Lara

La Diosa Rubia

 

When no one is looking,
and the Farmer’s away.

I sometimes pretend
that I am not who they say.

 

And when I am quite sure,
that no one there knows.

I’ll think that my meadow,
Is  a Plaza de Torros.

 

I watch La Diosa Rubia
step down from her mount.
She walks over to me,
stands still for my count.

 

I paw the ground three times

with a thundering force.

The breath from my nostrils,
even frightens her horse.

 

Our eyes lock on each other’s
and the crowd becomes still.

We speak with our senses,
as true lovers often will.

As I charge toward her
Conchita lowers her sword.

I turn to not hurt her
and she says not a word.

 

While I’m right beside her,
her hand tenderly reaches.

As she touches my back,
the crowd cheers and cheers.

 

My true love then departs,
with her sword by her side.
And I didn’t see it, but…

There were tears in her eyes.

 

BB

 

The world famous female bull fighter Conchita Cintrón passed away last year.  Her career began when she was 13 and she faced and killed 750 Bulls.  But the last one she fought she touched lovingly on the back as he charged.  Then she walked away in tears as the crowd cheered.  Before you judge, remember that all of us proud bovines would rather look into the eye of the Toreador or Toreadora than see the horrible slaughterhouses that you lead us blindly to on the way to McDonalds or the Supermarket.

Reviews

[Gandré]

Every year approx. 100 000 bulls are tormented and killed in bullfights worldwide. Many attendees are tourists and 90 % of these never return to another fight after witnessing relentless cruelty that takes place in the ring.
I find it good that you as a farmer makes us aware of this useless and disguised art - or entertainment. It has for sure murderous mystique, at least it is exactly the way how it is advertised.

I have read (former bullfighter reported) that the animals are intentionally debilitated with tranquilizers and laxatives and they get petroleum jelly rubbed into their eyes to blur vision or they hung heavy weights around their neck for weeks before fight and were kept in darkness for hours before being released into the bright arena.

Here raises a question: Are we humans allowed to kill for fun? I mean our ancestors killed to, but they did in order to survive.

Many bullfighters are vegetarians.

Bullfighters reported, bulls get their horns "shaved", so the bull miss his thrusts at the altered angle. Well, bulls are not the only victims; horses used in bullfights are - shot behind the ear with dope and the horses are drugged and blindfolded and have newspaper stuffed in their ears so it lowers their hearing .

Certainly, there is growing opposition against this art - or entertainment - which emerged in connection with ancient fertility rites.

It's a bloody amusement and abject, here is visible the devil of man. (or woman, torrera, as you wrote here in your poem). There are many opposed to animal cruelty in any form. When tourists stop to attend arenas - profiteers will stop the cruelty. SO OR SO BLOODY OR BLOODLESS - BULLFIGHTING IS A SENSELESS AND DEGRADING SPECTACLE THAT HAS NO PLACE IN CIVILIZED SOCIETY. In interest of next generations, we have to work on planet preservation.

We need to be critical about the companion animal as well as farm animals which have their own personality, they can express love and get angry and show friendship and a variety of emotions. Thus they deserve our respect and gratitude - for what they give us. Agriculture always has been important to humanity. By buying refusing industrial agriculture and preferring to buy meat and meat products from places working with human and acceptable methods: even nowadays we face this problem of having - less land - for more animals - for the populations are increasing, I still believe, that this way everybody can help to gentle the situation. Farms, where animals have no outlet for their behavior and have to stand on the same place and often not even allowed to turn around, the calfs too early separated from their mothers, they receive treatment against neurosis and diseases and anesthesia - which you buy in the store and those artificial molecules land later at your plate when you enjoy your hamburger or steak.

The compassionate living is for every living creature not only for humans.

I like your classical versification in quatrains and ab ab rhyme; especially I liked the fictive monologue of your brown bull.

I am sure, your Brown Bull loved his female toreador, he was generous and cautious not to hurt her. Would a common Spanish or Mexican torrera behave the same way? Well, what is this all about, this lady fought as you say and killed around 750 bulls and then the last one - got a touch on his back and she in tears left the arena..... Isn't it the same self-promotion like Bob Geldof and all the others who pump money to Africa but not because they want really to help, more alike the quote "tue Gutes and sprich darüber", as we say in Germany - which means - do something nice and talk about - so everybody will talk about you! What a pretentiousness, what a useless effort. Well, I wonder, who made them to stars? Not me. I would not give a bugger for one concert nor for sensationalism - not any of those - those people would be nobody, if nobody bought their CDs or visited their shows. I don't care for superiority nor do I care for celebrities nor do I dream about being compared in my writing to anybody else. but, that's just me.

I think this world is about sharing and shared awareness, it is about altruism (not frigging Tea Party!! Not about German Neo Nazis!! Not about eastern-European radical patritiocism!!), it is about simpler life and BACK TO SIMPLER LIFE FORMS. For I know, everything what I do to the universe - the universe does back to be. Physics, 8th grade, schools in Germany and in Slovakia, where I was raised..

[YouoweYoupay]

This write with it's brilliant ending made me slightly shudder as I realized it was a bull narrating the poem. Purely, and professionlally original. I loved it. Thank you for sharing.

-Wella.

[Irwin]

I love the justification for the spectacle of bull fighting and who am I to argue with that, and in this poem the bull was seduced by the event as well as the crowd.

[J.P. Bristow]

This was incredible......I am a traditionalist and this was masterful.

[TL Boehm]

while I admittedly am carnivorous by nature - I do not condone the abuse of animals. I live in New Mexico where pit bull fighting is quite common - where iguanas are often used to train those pit bulls, c**k fighting is also common...I've never seen the purpose to bloodsports and the way our food supply is raised these days is often just as horrific. I applaud those who raise what they need for consumption and treat the animals ethically.
that being said, this was a lovely poem - good ryhmes are oddly uncommon at the cafe.

[Honeypot]

I've never heard of her. Guess I never gave much thought to women as bull fighters. It's a woman against nature kind of poem from the bulls perspective. I see not everyone agreed with it , but I see it as a tribute to the woman. Good work as always.

[Dane Osborne]

i liked this it was a good poem. Sorry for not having more to say than that.

[Legion]

Gandre read-requested me with this. Truly a passionate piece for a fearless figure. Ah, if only us porcine types had such a powerful and romantic figure to regard with awe and respect. All we have is Porky Pig unfortunately and he doesn't even wear pants. The horror.

Well done on the write though. ;)

[KellieJeanne]

I honestly just loved this. nothing more to say. so great

[Alicante lullaby]

insightful write but in a world where even people are being slaughtered,I cant mourn bulls.

[abhas]

even animals learn to love and sacrifice their life for their love... and we call ourselves humans!!! amazing concept... beautifully and simply told with a message..
just great!