5 Poems
Andean Threshold
In a valley of mist and stone
climbing roses follow herds of llamas
along crumbling stairways.
The floor of the old hacienda
is a mosaic of circles
arranged in decorative patterns.
The circles are cross-sections
from the vertebrae of cattle
that lived long ago.
In every room, ornate crystal
and porcelain vases hold lavish
bouquets of flowers.
The furniture is mahogany.
The floor is bone.
Outdoors, a man on horseback
wears a green hat with a green feather
like Robin Hood.
His legs are encased in woolly goatskin chaps.
His spurs guide the horse in a dance.
He is a servant of the people who live indoors
like royalty, wiping their shoes
on the time-polished threshold
of bone.
