Alhambra
I walk the length of a Spanish Square and see visions of Renata
I am scared
I don't understand
You died when we were young

I saw the last light of your eyes
Touched the thinness of your lips
Saw you draw a last breath
Felt our dying hearts
Your mother wept in my arms

I remember we'd walk through wild woods
Run through tall leaves of grass
Leave our clothes under an evening sky
Swim and laugh in a cool stream

Then your heart grew weak
Your lungs filled with fluid
You died without the beauty of a long life

Under the hot Spanish sky a black bird circles with giant wings
I hear it laugh
I decide to have some fun
Will you dance with me, Renata?
Ghost lover, I'll hold your young hand

"Agua, Agua,"An old innkeeper cries.
"Come, come," he says. As he directs his wave towards me.

I drink water from his glass bottle.

"Senior, the Spanish sun is hot at mid-day. It fools your head. Time to take a siesta."

He shows me to my room. The door faces the square. I sit on an old wooden chair and take off my dusty desert boots. Then I place my clothes on the edge of my bed. Under a cool shower my head begins to clear. The water on my skin evaporates quickly as I dry myself with a large towel.

I stand naked under a ceiling fan and feel as cool as a mountain stream.

Tomorrow I will take a train to Granada, where gypsies still live in caves. The Moors built a castle there. They say when you see the Alhambra, you never forget its stature. Its tall Arabesque doorways.  Its beautiful water fountains.

I lay in bed and hope sleep comes soon. But outside my window there is the shadow of a giant bird. I hear its awakened humor against the mildness of my  heart.

Does it also know madness under a Spanish sun? Does it not take shelter in tall leaves of grass--or find peace in wild woods? Or await love in an evening sky? Or does it mock me with its crying laughter?