Rose Mary Boehm
Rose Mary Boehm is a German-born British national living and writing in Lima, Peru, and author of two novels as well as seven poetry collections. Her poetry has been published widely in mostly US poetry reviews (online and print). She was twice nominated for a ‘Pushcart’, once for ‘Best of Net’. All her books are available on Amazon. A new collection, LIFE STUFF, is coming out from Kelsay Books probably before Christmas.
Flamenco Somewhere in Huelva
Another warm night in Andalucia.
An occasional wail from one of the courtyards.
The laughter of children playing
in the dark, enjoying the more forgiving heat
of the night-white, heat-reflecting village walls.
The Mediterranean slurps lazily
against the stones,
fishing boats are bobbing on short waves
in the distance, their lamps
glow worms on moon-less water.
A guitar picks up the wail,
each string a song, the song staccatoed,
another string winding its harmony around the first,
Palmas punctuating the rhythm,
A man’s voice.
El río Guadalquivir
va entre naranjos y olivos.
baja de la nieve al trigo.
Federico knew his cantos hondo.
So does the gitano who takes it from there,
singing his own pain into the dark
of an Andalucian village.
A woman, a skirt, a star in her black hair,
an arm, a hand picking flowers from the air—
a hand that just finished washing
the dishes—
She lifts her Sunday skirt, moves her hip,
lowers her eyes, then raises her head
in one defiant jolt.
She is woman.
Olé!
