Little Reviews: Poem for Thursday, Arboretum Flowers and Koi

Romance Sonambulo
By Federico García Lorca
Translated by William Logan

Green, how I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship out on the sea
and the horse on the mountain.
With the shade around her waist
she dreams on her balcony,
green flesh, her hair green,
with eyes of cold silver.
Green, how I want you green.
Under the gypsy moon,
all things are watching her
and she cannot see them.

Green, how I want you green.
Big hoarfrost stars
come with the fish of shadow
that opens the road of dawn.
The fig tree rubs its wind
with the sandpaper of its branches,
and the forest, cunning cat,
bristles its brittle fibers.
But who will come? And from where?
She is still on her balcony
green flesh, her hair green,
dreaming in the bitter sea.

--My friend, I want to trade
my horse for her house,
my saddle for her mirror,
my knife for her blanket.
My friend, I come bleeding
from the gates of Cabra.
--If it were possible, my boy,
I'd help you fix that trade.
But now I am not I,
nor is my house now my house.
--My friend, I want to die
decently in my bed.
Of iron, if that's possible,
with blankets of fine chambray.
Don't you see the wound I have
from my chest up to my throat?
--Your white shirt has grown
thirsy dark brown roses.
Your blood oozes and flees a
round the corners of your sash.
But now I am not I,
nor is my house now my house.
--Let me climb up, at least,
up to the high balconies;
Let me climb up! Let me,
up to the green balconies.
Railings of the moon
through which the water rumbles.

Now the two friends climb up,
up to the high balconies.
Leaving a trail of blood.
Leaving a trail of teardrops.
Tin bell vines
were trembling on the roofs.
A thousand crystal tambourines
struck at the dawn light.

Green, how I want you green,
green wind, green branches.
The two friends climbed up.
The stiff wind left
in their mouths, a strange taste
of bile, of mint, and of basil
My friend, where is she--tell me--
where is your bitter girl?
How many times she waited for you!
How many times would she wait for you,
cool face, black hair,
on this green balcony!
Over the mouth of the cistern
the gypsy girl was swinging,
green flesh, her hair green,
with eyes of cold silver.
An icicle of moon
holds her up above the water.
The night became intimate
like a little plaza.
Drunken "Guardias Civiles"
were pounding on the door.
Green, how I want you green.
Green wind. Green branches.
The ship out on the sea.
And the horse on the mountain.

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My day started well -- I went to a morning dentist appointment, planning to get some shopping done, come home and get some chores done, then go out to dinner with Gblvr. The dentist appointment was fine; they have a new water pik type tool that cleaned my teeth in record time though it got my face wetter than I would have liked particularly if I'd been wearing makeup, but since I wasn't, and since it was 90 degrees outside and quite warm inside, it didn't really bother me. And I had no cavities. Since the dentist's office is in a mall, I then went to H&M and found a cute black skirt for $10. Since the mall is less than a mile from My Organic Market, I then went to get awesome Nature's Path cereal (I eat mostly the pumpkin raisin, son eats mostly the red berry crunch) and picked up some equally wonderful cranberry pumpkin bread. And since I have to pass by Target between My Organic Market and home, I went in to return something and came out with a flowery skirt that I had bought and returned a month ago but decided upon trying it on again that it goes with a lot of things I already have and anyway Gblvr thought it was cute too.

From there, my afternoon became frustrating. On the way home, a light appeared on my dashboard warning me that my tire pressure was low. Since the car was just in yesterday to get the air conditioning fixed, this was particularly irritating, and I was too hungry to go straight to the dealer to get it checked out because I hadn't eaten lunch so I went home and called Paul, who thought maybe it was a result of having the tires rotated but decided to come home to check. The stupid light never even came on for him and the tire gauge said they were all fine, so now we are wondering whether the heat caused some kind of change in air pressure or there's something that needs to be reset in the car's computer after the A/C repair, which can't happen this week because the OTHER van has to go in and have its A/C repaired. Then I found out that Gblvr was sick and couldn't come to dinner, which is a bummer not only for her but for me since I haven't seen her in weeks.

The evening, at least, was better -- we had leftovers for dinner but since those were homemade enchiladas, Hoppin' John, and couscous, this was a good thing, and then we discovered that Sharpe's Peril was on PBS, extremely good news because I had managed to miss it when it aired earlier and never tracked down a copy on DVD. It's not my favorite of the Sharpes by a long stretch, but simply having a new episode to watch was a pleasure; I wished there were more interesting women but it was just wonderful to see Sharpe and Harper again. And Paul decided to make gingerbread so the house smelled wonderful and it tasted equally so, and I have just watched Rabbi Jeff Goldblum circumcise a cigarette on The Colbert Report so I really should not complain. Some more photos from the National Arboretum earlier in the week: