Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Buenos Aires

As I wander the streets aplenty

I stare in awe at the city's bounty.

Overhead the buildings towering

Shine gloriously with their gold trimming.

The angels singing from their perches

Beckoning, they seek your patronage.

Carved perfection in marble and stone

Their essence captured yet somehow unknown.



And down another street I turn

New wonders abound for which to yearn.

Though here the shops don't stand so tall,

Yet their colours are cause of enthrall.

The bright structures do inspire-

Cause gaiety, forgetting mire.



And as I round another corner

Majestic music drifts on over;

Mirthful melodies to please the ear

As people gather, drawn in near

To hear the flutes and guitars and drums

Allowing the beats to overcome

Invokes within us peaceful musings

Of loves and losses and summer flings.



But even as the crowds do flock-

Still many others take no stock.

For though their pace be leisurely,

They have else they needs or rather be:

To San Telmo, at the street fairs;

Perhaps on Subte, to sell their wares.



Down to the tunnel did I descend,

To take the Subte to its farthest end.

Bust'ling and loud, peace there is never;

Sounds echo through the tunnels forever.

The squeaks and creaks and cracks of the tracks

Mimic the murmurs of folks at my back.

Whipping and spinning around corners-

Doors ajar grant I witness the wonder.



Envel'ped I paid no attention-

Abruptly I reach'd my destination.

Out from the darkness I did climb

Onto the calle, where church bells chime.

Immediately I'm accosted

Beggars and pedd'lers not abated!



Beyond, I continue on my way

To Recoleta, I shall spend my day

Among the tombs and mausoleums,

Serving History as its Lyceum;

Speaking for Argentina's belov'd

Evita's dreams forever confronted.

Eternally Heroes remembered-

Lama's legacy always admired.



Alas it's time, I must depart-

This place bestowed all it can impart.

By a new route I shall return

To behold new sights, from which to learn.

Through the park I start to wander-

Am overcome by its grand splendour!



As I pause to reap in the beauty

Earth's bounty I find has achieved full glory-

The trunks of the tress grow meters wide;

The boughs- an umbrella, doth shade provide.

Colors possessing such vibrancy

Like Alice wander I into fantasy.

My mind racing, infused by passion-

Nothing to stop my reckless abandon!



As I spin from reality

A tango dancer I'd rather be!

Passions ablaze, hearts of fire

Consume each other, ne'er to tire.

Faces so close, two become one-

The tease of the dance never outdone!



Eventu'lly I am distracted

From my dreams, no longer enacted

In my mind, by a scent so divine

As to tear me from a tango so fine.

As the smells come wafting o'er I find

That I cannot be appeas'd in my mind

Lest I head o'er to the parilla

Whence I discover meats fit for Hestia.



Their meats renown throughout the world

They were not lies- all you have been told!

Served juicy and rare, perfectly

Cut, flavours that cannot be equally

Match'd, only masked by seasoning

And marinades cause ruining!



To it's guests this city keeps giving-

It's chest full of treasures is unending.

Tango dancers, meats for royalty,

It's architecture and diversity

Of people and places, exuding

Beauty, music nothing less than pleasing.

History and culture emanates

Whence leave have I no desire to take.

1 comment:

  1. I love the part of the tango dancers and that they consume each other. It is really nice and says a lot about Argentina and its people. Last year I travelled to this amazing country to know more about the tango culture, I was staying in one of those apartments in Buenos Aires in San Telmo. The streets made of stone were so particularly traditional that you felt sorry for the cars that passed on them.
    I just liked it a lot!
    Brooke

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