fiestas – Page 4 – don't confuse the narrator

holidays and holy days

Nowadays, most people seem to overlook Good Friday, but I thought it was an excuse to leave my desk for a while.

It’s been a glorious sunny day, but I didn’t take my camera when I went out, so rather than my usual habit of seeing things through a lens darkly, I actually looked directly at all the yellow flowers of spring: the daffodils peeking over garden walls, the primroses nestling in the uncut grass, the brighter yellow of celandines and, perhaps brightest of all, the shaggy-maned dandelions.

This lovely camellia stood out as such a different colour that I was tempted to try and capture it on my phone.

With wind and rain forecast for tomorrow, I don’t think those blossoms will last long, so I am glad I was brought up to think of Good Friday as a holiday.

la Inmaculada

Although I now spend most of my time in the UK, I still work with people in Spain and – due mostly to the lack of response to my phone calls – I am very conscious of the fact that today is a fiesta.

In fact it’s the fiesta de la inmaculada concepción – celebrating the immaculate conception of Mary, mother of Jesus.
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kisses

For no good reason, other than that it was growing close to a stone church wall, this flower reminded me of a poem written on a trip to the fiestas in southern Spain.

I remember taking an early draft to the local writers’ group for comments and being disconcerted when one of the women said she felt unqualified to comment because she didn’t know what I meant by kisses.

It’s true that I sometimes use everyday images in my poetry to represent bigger issues, but this wasn’t meant to be any kind of trick.

Sometimes, even when wrapped up in the weird perspective and mixed metaphors of an imperfect poem, a kiss is just a kiss.
Continue reading “kisses”

Sanfermines

Although I am in Spain, I will not be attending the controversial running of the bulls in Pamplona. Instead, to mark the San Fermín festival, which started yesterday, I offer this splendid statue from Birmingham’s Bullring shopping centre.

exits and entrances

It’s Noche Vieja – New Year’s Eve – and I am in Spain; so, as the Spanish would have it:

“Feliz salida y entrada”

And if you feel you are making your exit from 2013 “pursued by a bear”, I hope you discover that it’s really nothing more threatening than a teddy-bear.