Friday, December 17, 2010

El Teide

This second installment in the unofficial poetry series about special places features two poems inspired by locations in the Canary Islands archipelago.

El Teide

I come to you in awe
a humble visitor 
in your paradise.

You welcomed me so many times before
giving me more
than what I had hoped for.

Amidst your rocky plains
I, just an ant
bowing before your magnificence.

Unchanged...you stand proud
letting me see you naked
while I walk through your pumice sands
and gnaw at your sides.

When Columbus came to refill his supplies
on the way to discover the New World
you disagreed with his quest,
spitting out lava and smoke
side by side with Guanche warriors.
You didn’t allow his fleet to land,
you knew the consequences.

It is a shame nobody ever listens to volcanoes,
to the messages you whisper at each dusk
as the clouds descends to cover your wounds
for the night.


A sacred place

The tide retrieved
behind La MontaƱa Roja
stripping the lava rock
of cold Atlantic waters -
- the impenetrable veil
thrown by Mother Nature
over your beautiful curves.

Walking alone
my steps resonate
through the empty caves
untouched by human hands.
Alone for centuries
You stand proud
casting your shadow
in the setting sun.

Paradise on Earth
they call it
but how many of them
come to see your real beauty
the rough tidal waters
carved in your face

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