Federico spoke of the barren Orange Tree,
“the day walks in circles around me”
He said this from the push-pinned sheet
on the wall. I saw light fall at my feet
I looked for my shadow on the ground,
like the man on the merry-go-round
caught in the loop longing for days
he hung on the stoop, dreaming
now caught in the cycle of same, less
fun in the game, no escape from
daily chants of loss and blame
without change it’s all too plain
nowhere bound with the same refrain
atop the painted Palomino, flaking paint
at full gallop, round and round, feeling faint
no one notices the languishing man
the view of colors moving blurry sand
until he steps down from the hive
alone, yet still alive
he is ready to see himself
in poverty or wealth
where
The sun will catch
the shadow of the orange tree
that bears no fruit

(After-poem, inspired by “The Song of the Barren Orange Tree”, Federico Garcia Lorca)