The smell of tapas on la Rambla
takes me back a thousand weeks
I feel your skin as dewdrops on my glass
Your hair as raven wings
Your hand had settled as a cat in mine
that’s when I sunk
into the wells, the suffocating waves
of water in your eyes.
And as parting plea I said:
“Whisper love in Catalan
before my train is leaving – say:
T’estimo, t’estimo molt,
With sea our witness
Please whisper love in Catalan”
And still in Gambas al ajillo
a smell
of you; as silent as before.
You never whispered love in Catalan.
I have to do all the poems I can to be able to reach 30 during this month, so therefore I present this melancholia as a poem. Hope it works for you. I love Barcelona, but I have never had any affairs there, but I have enjoyed the gambas on la Rambla.
Friday Fictioneers is a community of bloggers that write 100 word stories every week to the same picture, this is under the stewardship of Rochelle Wisoff-Fields, and attracts around 100 entries every week.
—
April 29, 2015
The nostalgic melancholy comes through well.
I’m trying to imagine the ‘…..feel your skin as dewdrops on my glass’ line and getting images of translucense in my mind…
I got it from memories of being there,
Nice, B.
Wow. Have to say I’m out of my comfort zone critting this sort of work. All I can say is it sounds good.
You nicely captured how much the memory of a smell plays a part in our self-history. Lovely poem, Bjorn
No love, so sad.
Well done.
That poem had a beautiful flow to it, Bjorn. Truly lovely. — Suzanne
Drowning. Beautiful melancholia.
Well, you fooled me. I was sure you were mourning unrequited love in Barcelona. You romantic, you!
Dear Bjorn,
This will be a sleeper hit this week. i will remember it long after all the rest have faded.
Aloha,
Doug
You are such a romantic Bjorn. I love your poetry.
Tracey
Heady and romantic. Well done.
Beautiful poem. Funny how each place has its own particular smell.
Felt like sung by a romantic Catalan, sitting in the wharf, with his lute !
Intoxicating !
I love it when you do poems.,
You make me swoon 🙂
Beautiful poem, such wonderful imagery.
Dear Bjorn, You really wrote a romantic poem here and I love it. You are really sentimental – nicely done! Nan
my favorite line is “your hand had settled as a cat in mine.” it was so original.
Your poetry is phenomenal. How easily does it come to you? Curious, as many poets spend hours, if not days, searching for one right word.
This one took me 20 minutes to write.. Somehow it just built itself. I think many poets would spend more time perfecting it.. And for sure I would like to perfect my poems.
How very beautiful. This is like a song of everyone who’s fallen in love when in a foreign land, the whole affair made even more magical by all the exotic surroundings. Wonderful!
Sultry and sensual – the scent of Gambas al ajillo on the air awakening the “never was” – a kind of sadness that the passion of that moment in time did not culminate. A fragile, tender, sweet heart ache. Sigh.
Bjorn, the entire first stanza is an explosion of sensuality. You are in fine form, my friend. What a beautiful conclusion to National Poetry Month!
Beautiful. And you’ve certainly cracked the atmosphere of la Ramble.
Beautiful. Simply Beautiful.
Bittersweet as yours.
I agree.
What a lovely melancholy poem. La Rambla is lovely too, smells nice as well!
Rosey Pinkerton
This one’s a keeper. Loved it, Bjorn.
Dear Björn,
Wistful and romantic. nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Oh, this is so bittersweet…I love it.
How sad but then he did not stay. Perhaps if he had she would have whispered the sacred words or even better shouted them.
Lovely, wistful poem. You made me want gambas, as well…
Wonderful stuff, Bjorn. Sensual and vivid. Just magic!
How romantic! I approve of romantic
The nostalgic nature of this poem really appeals. Beautiful descriptions – I love the line ‘I feel your skin as dewdrops on my glass’. Really well done. 🙂
A sad story of unreturned love, and a beautifully built poem. The images are evocative. Wonderful.
Very evocative lines. This is such a wonderful way of describing tears
“the suffocating waves
of water in your eyes”
Loved it.
This poem really captures that emptiness and longing, of a love that is unrequited. Beautifully written, Björn! Poetry eludes me; I’m always impressed with the words you spin into complete works.
Björn you always make poetry look so easy and I know it isn’t. This is just so romantic, so beautifully written. I am in awe.
A sensual memory beautifully written. Other languages have so many different ways to say I love you…
Did you make the 30 poems? I’ll try to go back and read some later today.
Ellespeth