peripeteia
“When the past is recaptured by the imagination, breath is put back into life.”
Goodbye, Barcelona.
As I watch the incense burn and smoke billow in the light, the curls caress a part of me that’s just awakened through this brash and boastful city.
What will I recollect of my time in Spain?
I’ll say that I discovered love in unexpected places. Outside of torched cathedrals that were undressed with rubble and rotting wood. I’ll say I stole the eyes of an orange cat who crouched at the mouth of the alleyway. It's jade jewels I tucked into a leather satchel strung from a hip. I’ll say I got magnificently disoriented in the stone corridors searching for art. flags and candles flickered in the breeze and teased the path home. I’ll say my abode was the soft edge of the sea. I’ll say I encountered the scorching pit of shame and surmounted the layers of larvae with a song of forgiveness. I’ll say I learned to say, I wish you well, with no attachment. I’ll say I spent decades perched on the stone ledge overlooking the Mediterranean with stars flung up in the sky, just for me. Spinning constellations that could never predict my lovers.
I’ll say I danced in the strong arms of a giant and slurped oysters from heavy shells. I’ll say I dressed in green silk and bought bouquets of dried flowers to hang on the wall. I’ll say I sang songs in Catalan and floated in cold baths with a basketful of children.
I’ll say I broke bread with dawn and stretched my body long on the wooden floor. I’ll say I flashed teeth at baristas who looked at me too long. Eyes dark as olives, skin smooth as hummus. I’ll say I watched the sailboats spin in the wind with sand so fine it tasted like melting petals. I’ll say my body burned with lust and blossomed like the roses on my alter. I’ll say Ganesha watched over me with his gold gaze, one palm held up as an invitation to proceed. I’ll say I said YES to each offering. I’ll say I was goaded by enchantment. I’ll say I dreamed of pipes and flooded studios. I’ll say I woke up parched and sipped white wine from chilled glasses sitting on the floor. I’ll say I ate chocolate on my white bed and listened to the child cry next door.
I’ll say I wandered dark corridors in museums with rock walls and vault ceilings. I’ll say my body buzzed from the pronounced suffering in the paintings. I’ll say my womb ached with the realization of beauty at the center of such irreversible pain. I’ll say I struck up a conversation with strangers who told me their stories. Comedians, singers, writers, and dancers. I’ll say I was pursued by a girl with a tongue ring and eyes like glaciers who took my hand and squeezed it three times as the waves held our bodies.
I’ll say I bedded with twilight, the purple glow casting halos of lavender to my wrists. I’ll say I slept naked with the moon as my beloved, its transforming face a reminder of my unrelenting curiosities. I’ll say I questioned the mountains on the distinction between force and assertion. I’ll say I fried scallops and eggs and ate beets with my fingers straight from the jar. I’ll say I swam naked with the translucent fish who sucked toe rings and glided coolly as jelly against my feet. I’ll say I slept at the beach between couples who flicked spliffs to the wet and fed each other slices of peaches.
Goodbye, Barcelona.
A part of my heart sprang to life in this brash and boastful city.
Photo source.
