In Madrid
Long train ride passing thirsty farmland
slow bullocks in the fields rocky country with
boulders rolled by glaciers curious configurations
near rivers shrinking dry finally reach Madrid
Hotel Mora on Calle del Prado with a balcony
facing the street no way to avoid hearing arguments
getting physical in outside cafes but we prefer
this energy to weary dreary La Coruña
take a walk through El Retiro park watch water
gushing neatly in irrigation ditches toward trees
otherwise the whole place would blow away
as it’s a desert hot dry sidewalks cracked and parched
hard as cement a small green pond perched center
guarded by 18th century lion statues with boys
climbing their backs some couples rowing a few
in pedal boats others nearby in a cafe then I realize
black people have been sitting there being ignored by waiters
because they’re black until they give up quietly walk away
unmistakable insult of a woman and two girls treated worse
than invisible by staff pretending not to see humans
Plaza Mayor attracts flocks of swallows wheeling flying
criss cross circling and last night two men stood clapping
for their dogs without leashes hell no not here but we
can’t afford fancy restaurants glittery expensive places
with waiters in cummerbunds linen tables set with four forks
find a cheap bar serving sardines fried squid and salad where
people bring babies all hours of the night but I’m mired in
immediacies of stifled effort mixed with exhaustion as I can’t
fix what’s nasty and ugly yet can’t let it go though it’s time for
my dance workout while Fernando’s smoking on the balcony.
- © Nina Rubinstein Alonso 2021
Nina's work has appeared in Ploughshares, The New Yorker, Ibbetson Street, etc. Her book, "This Body", was published by David Godine Press, and her chapbook Riot Wake is upcoming from Cervena Barva Press. A story collection and novel are in the works as well as a collection of poems from travels in Spain, from which this poem is taken. Nina is also a ballet teacher, and one of her dearest friends, the artist Heather Ellyard, lives in Victoria.
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