Moorish Influence

I would leave this northern cool-clime,

find an antidote to delicate rose summer

nights that shiver still under the moon…

 

Give me a land of gold heat-shimmer, blaze-

blue sky and silent afternoons, reflecting

pools below pierced and carven screens,

ceramic tiles that mesmerize in endless

whorls of red, yellow, green. White walls

in sun-glare and hidden shady doors

drape themselves in bougainvillea

and lounging cats while inside I luxuriate

in striped silk cushions and spicy scents,

silver pot and mint tea. A mosaic fountain

plashes in the courtyard. The day releases

skin-scent; stars expand and breathe.

 

Inspired by dVerse, Around the World!

Great Depression Love Story

Everything dust but his cool words

in the diner, that just-different drawl

that marked him as from not-around-here.

A tall drink of water, hair dark beneath hat

and if his frame was rail-lean yet the sinew

was tough and railroad work demanded

muscle. He talked to you (he loved to talk),

charm reinforced by the monotonous

backdrop: bleached-dry tumbleweed

ranchland, scraggled ranks of prickly pear.

Your courting not about picture shows,

fast cars, stolen touches; only coffee

and maybe pie, sweet talk and dreams

of a lush green future, anywhere else.

 

Inspired by this dVerse Poets Pub prompt, writing about family history.