San
Rafael de Guatuso, Costa Rica
 |
| A living fence in Costa Rica, from TravelBlog.org |
I
wander dreams of dinosaurs
while
dozing in a concrete cave
as
freight trucks rumble
baritone
scales
north
into night.
Somewhere
in darkness
drunks
howl feigned joy
and
small dogs strut
soprano
outrage
from
the safety of sofas.
Tremulations
stalk
the hearts and haunt
 |
| Field in Guatuso, courtesy of Mary Woods, Methodist Rural Center, Costa Rica |
the
night alone
in
far lands.
But far is not a place you go to,
far is something dark inside,
a cave you wall against the terror
faced alone but not beyond
the love disguised as humble chance.
But far is not a place you go to,
far is something dark inside,
a cave you wall against the terror
faced alone but not beyond
the love disguised as humble chance.
So who’s to say the whippoorwill
who
camps aside my weathered door
to
chant his sad, hypnotic score
is
not an angel sent by God
to guard the gap from black to gray.
When
somehow, dawn
birds
sing back sleep
as
light rains
play,
pianissimo,
the
green plains of Guatuso.
Where
fence posts sprout
leaves
and roots, and dark nights
yield
to sun-baked days
with
black beans, bitter coffee
and
sweet pineapple grace.
Other poems from Costa Rica:
- Jessica's Blessing
- A Friday Morning Devotional in Iglesia Evangelica Metodista
- The Girl's Guava Tree
Thanks to our coordinators, Marion and Mary Woods, who lead the Methodist Rural Center in Costa Rica, and sent our team to San Rafael. And thanks to the good people of the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista in San Rafael for hosting our stay there.
ReplyDeleteThe Dusky Nightjar of Costa Rica is a close relative of the whippoorwill. For a short discussion and audio clips, see: http://earbirding.com/blog/archives/2003
Loved the far part. It gave me chills.
ReplyDelete