. Portland, Maine ! back again. perched high atop Munjoy Hill. the rain stops, sunset splays the rooftops & Portland Observatory across the street. we load in. meet Kathleen our very interesting neighbor downstairs while firetrucks lurch out the firehouse. Portland, Maine. Munjoy Hill. we drive down Cumberland right past Cleeve Street, my old … More Munjoy Hill, Portland, Maine 11/13/23
. owl hooting softly in the woods night bugs singing, frogs murmuring, plane passing over. amber moon on the rise Wenham, Massachusetts autumn night . . .
. been too long here in Wenham (again) — it’s a sort of limbo. caught between one destination & the next. this time it’s between Spain & Maine. quite a juxtaposition. still, it’s good to see the family, & all the old haunts & hangs. necessary, at least. we drive from Danvers to Ipswich. Gloucester … More Wenham, Massachusetts 11/11/23
. unpacking boxes. packing them. reading old journals in the basement, listening to WUNH radio broadcasts recorded on Maxell-2 cassette tape from 1997 on my father’s toolshed boombox. tossing out old work pants with the soot of a hundred bars. shelving a dozen Lonely Planet guidebooks from Malta, Finland & Spain — marry them in … More Unpacking boxes, Wenham, MA 11/10/23
. back from Spain. it’s all so surreal. drive to Stephy’s for breakfast. drive to Acapulco’s for lunch. hang with mi madre. hang with my kin. everything just the same as how we left. but so different; we’re Spanish now. a sort of homecoming. wow, just wow. gonna take a minute for this to … More Beverly, Massachusetts, USA 11/9/23
. sunrise thirteen. breakfast in my borrowed bowl. Erica comes to join me, while a holy risen rose paints white walls in flower petals. three parakeets wheel over towards the Parc Central, catching rainbows on the fly. white prick of jet fire way up high in cirrus stratosphere. soon we’ll be up there wheeling towards … More Sonrisa, Russafa. València, Spain 11/8/23
. the missus & i, out for an evening stroll. chores all done, we’re all moved out. take some trash on the way down, say goodbye to Shayla out on the street. up Calle de Filipinas under the palms, a la derecha at Bar the Corner. out to Russafa, one last time. out to the … More One last time, Russafa, València, Spain 11/7/23
. second breakfast along Literat Azorin & Calle de Cuba as the raindrops fall. tostada con tomate, jamon, dos zumo de naranja. cafe con leche to wash it all down. we sit on our Russafan corner under the umbrella at Bar Raga, watching the world spin ‘round. gotta say goodbye to this town . … More Bar Raga, Russafa, València 11/6/23
. last days in València. while away the hours translating Pablo Neruda. sweep up dust bunnies, clean house, pack bags, bring extra groceries down to my gypsy Anika by Consum. wander the avenues enraptured with modernist apartments houses, palms & waxing moons. Estrella Galicias at Chinese corner bars, shopping for items in the cool shade … More Last days, Russafa, València, Spain 11/5/23
over hill and dale 