TE19 Iberian Adventure

El Colombiario

A Father, a Son and a Great Ceiba

Along a stretch of dirt road, between pastures and moriche palms,

excited by a brushstroke, at the edge of the forest, beyond the dungheap, the roaring stream,

the mountains on the horizon, hot dust filling plain and sky, in the lovely orchard of the wooden house

with deep blue door frames: a father in a black felt hat,

a boy in a little white drill jacket, and a great ceiba tree brushed by the sinister whistling of the nightjar announcing barking of dogs and screaming of armed men. Shots. Blood. Silence. The bark split. The fruit smashed. The seed scattered.

Along a paved stretch, between rubber crops, at the edge of the forest, way beyond the huge dungheap, the quiet stream, the mountains on the horizon, 45