Roosters and church bells
punctuate the days
in Villa de Leyva
the mountain town
founded by Spanish colonialists
circa 1572.

Fronds of lush bougainvillea
proliferate — fuchsia, violet and ruby
dangling everywhere
over white-washed walls
and red-tiled roofs.

Visitors and locals
traverse the cobblestone streets
where time has mostly
stopped.

Locals sip cerveza and chat
in the shade around the perimeter
of the vast town square
an expanse of ancient stones
ringed by verdant mountains
under an azure sky hung
with improbably perfect clouds
as if painted by Tiepolo.
The people are dwarfed by this landscape
and no one hurries.

The square, a social center
replete with time-worn tales —
a brown-cassocked friar
turns on lights in the church
where worshippers enter, pray and depart
then families fill the tavernas for lunch
as stray dogs meander the streets
ever hopeful, scrounging for scraps.

Visitors buy straw fedoras
to ward off the sun
and soon realize rushing
won’t matter
on mountain time.

You pause at the corner bodega
and buy masa arepas —
plump cornmeal pancakes
blooming with sweet cheese filling.
Greetings of ‘Bienvenidos’
from the women in shops
shops proffering handwrought jewelry —
feathers of gold, silver suns
iridescent blue beads fashioned into fans
to adorn your ears and throat
woven straw purses
for stashing your loot.

At the local cafecito
you’re served by slim, eager young men
who strive to accommodate
tolerate your poor Spanish
and reply ‘con gusto’
as you dine on pork carnitas
and aguardiente — firewater for courage
that enables you to believe
your Spanish improves
as the night goes on.

Roosters and church bells
punctuate the days
in Villa de Leyva
the white-walled, red-roofed
mountain town draped
with lush bougainvillea
where time has mostly
stopped.

Gail Tirone’s poems have appeared in Cider Press Review, Atlanta Review, Amsterdam Quarterly, NDQ, Hawaii Pacific Review, Mediterranean Poetry, The Hong Kong Review, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, and elsewhere. A Best of the Net nominee, Gail is originally from New York and now lives in Houston. http://www.gailtirone.com