Hello!!! I am glad to announce that April is National Poetry Month! I will post a favorite poem, one either written by another poet or me. I look forward to your comments and I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful Spring season!

EXCERPT from SALSA! The  Taste of Life

Alhambra

Dulce, sweet, lovely Lucia

with gorgeous brunette locks,

her body made for flamenco dance,

she hailed from the province of Andalucia.

Where the bull fighting is fierce,

where the sunsets put you in a trance,

as the bull dies everyone cheers.

 

Lucia loved Alejandro;

the owner of her heart was he;

he lived in the Alhambra,

a member of Castilian nobility.

His ancestors had built the grand palace,

christened Alhambra—Arabic for red castle.

Built first as an alcazar with high walls

to protect, defend, and keep enemies out.

Inside, a lovely medina with fragrant gardens and a mall,

where people lived and enjoyed life no doubt.

Oh how Lucia loved the Alhambra,

built by the light of flaming torches,

atop the hill of Sabica.

With numberless towers and wrap around porches,

Alhambra at night bathed in moonlight is silver.

By daylight she looks awash in gold.

The heart of Alhambra: The Generalife

Gardens of passion and seduction is where our story begins,

with its endless labyrinths of tamarisk

intoxicating the senses with orange blossoms.

The place where our two young lovers take a life-altering risk,

opposite worlds collide, breaking with tradition they did,

only to end up exiled and running for their lives.

Friends since childhood,

the two had run and played hide and seek

atop the mountains of the Sierra Nevada,

a breath taking view if the majestic peak.

 

Neither Lucia nor Alejandro were aware

that all of their childhood play

would turn from love for fun,

into two hearts beating and giving way

to the passion that would awaken in them.

Not too far away, watching all that was unfolding

was general Fernandez: Lucia’s father.

He ran his troops with great discipline

and commanded great respect.

Feared by many and heralded as a hero by others,

General Fernandez’s character was circumspect;

his enemies he held close, the rest of the world,

he held at arm’s length…

Except for his Lucia that is.

To the young señorita, her Papi was her strength,

her hero, and her all knowing sage.

All that was about to change

as the girl matured and grew with age,

and her heart’s emotions would intensify in range,

to include her beloved…Alejandro.

General Fernandez, with eyes of an eagle,

saw the changes in Lucia’s heart

even before she was aware of them.

He’d have none of it,

He’d devise a clever plan

to pull those two young hearts apart.

No one was good enough for his Lucia,

who in his eyes would always be his dulce, sweet girl;

unbeknownst to him, Lucia was about to shake his world.

The crusaders would be going back soon.

The general decided to enlist new warriors;

he’d send Alejandro with them.

He’d send him far away, even to the moon!

The two young lovers met by moonlight

in the gardens of seduction.

They’d heard the decree; they had to fight.

Something had to be done.

Alejandro decided to be bold and speak to the general;

having been taught from a boy

the truth will set you free,

he would tell her father of his heart’s joy

and oppose the general’s decree.

Alejandro met with the general in Alhambra’s southern tower;

for a second they put away their macho bravado;

the general stepped down from power.

Alejandro’s heart beat fast. He had to win him over.

In the spur of the moment, the general made a proposal.

Alejandro would serve two years in the crusades;

then he would win the right to a betrothal.

Alejandro shook the general’s hand,

they shook and agreed.

Then the general resumed his command.

Two young hearts met in the gardens of seduction

the night before Alejandro’s departure.

To be apart for so long

was going to prove a great torture.

Lucia felt something was wrong,

but she trusted her father,

for both of their sake she chose to be strong.

Time marches on, an unopposed soldier.

Lucia daily wrote letters to Alejandro in the front.

To keep from going mad, she kept busy in the day,

and by moonlight, she’d sleep in the gardens,

the place where they’d pledged their love for each other.

In her dreams they made love endlessly;

for Lucia there would never be another.

Two long years passed; Alejandro was coming home!

To be apart one more minute would be a travesty.

The returning crusaders were greeted with a feast;

everyone attended, even His majesty.

They had won the war, they had slain the beast!

 

Alejandro’s heart was no longer a flame;

two years away, it had become a great bonfire.

He wanted no gold, riches, or fame;

he only wanted Lucia… his heart’s desire.

General Fernandez saw the young man’s intensified passion;

his heart grew colder still.

Another devious plan he would fashion.

He would bend his young Lucia’s will.

This time he summoned Alejandro in secret, late one night.

The general proposed to send Alejandro away five years more.

Alejandro now exercised the power of his might,

told the general no, and he marched out by the back door.

To deny the general and his orders meant a sure banishment,

so Alejandro took the bride he’d been promised,

and they left Alhambra to escape further humiliation and punishment.

Soon after, General Fernandez knew he’d been played,

now he was heart broken,

his worst fears had not been allayed.

Ever since Lucia left, they had not spoken.

Now he was completely alone and growing older.

He’d has his way all right…

Winds from the Sierras blew in, making him colder.

Meanwhile, Lucia was alive and very much in love,

yet at times her heart felt torn.

She fit Alejandro as a glove—

still, she felt forlorn.

Alejandro loved her—always gentle as a dove.

Her love he wore with pride;

the two, a match made in heaven.

Lucia made for a striking bride.

On the seventh month, on day seven,

Alejandro and Lucia walked down the red carpet,

the young bride in a beautiful gown of Chantilly lace,

with miles upon miles of train,

and an opaque veil to hide her sad face,

lamenting the fact that her Papi was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, the music stopped and the doors to the chapel flew open.

There stood General Fernandez in full decorum;

Lucia and Alejandro were astounded,

and both of them trembled a little inside.

The general walked to his daughter and smiled;

her heart at once no longer confounded.

He told Alejandro to step aside;

He would walk Lucia down the aisle,

and hand her to Alejandro who stood up at the alter beaming with pride.

With tears streaming down his weathered face,

Cold, icy-blue pools that once were his eyes,

now melted as he lifted Lucia’s lace,

asking her for a heart-felt pardon.

Father and daughter tightly embraced;

she knew she was the richest woman in all of Alhambra.

The two men she loved most

would be with her forever, and that makes this tale done!

EVA SANTIAGO copyright 2012