One Afternoon

In Aljezur we took a walk
And paused above the river where,
Among the rushes, swifts and fish,
We saw a water-snake drink the air
Before the reptile rippled back
And watched until an azure flash
Flew from the bridge to walnut tree,
A kingfisher in sudden flight,
A memorised epiphany
Almost before it came and went,
Electric blue and heaven-sent,
To fish and feed downriver where
The sailing vessels once had moved
Beside the town of Aljezur.

And then we climbed the cobbled hill
Past bees and flowers in summer heat
And entered by the castle gate
To read about the ancient site:
A Moorish cistern now caught rain
Where silos once had stored the grain.
We heard the cowbells on the wind
And then imagined in the sound
The medieval settlement.
On water-meadows down below
Across the rich alluvial plain,
Neat vegetables in row on row,
Potatoes, onions, maize and beans,
In miniature abundance grow.

Where codes and cultures rose and fell,
We saw a fragile butterfly
Land on a flower long-since dry
And imitate its petals when
It opened up white marbled wings.
We watched a stork rise high above
The plain, the hill, the citadel,
In aerial serenity
As if it were a symbol of
The continuities of life
When all its blessings feel like love:
We saw a kingfisher for sure
And watched a stork on thermals soar
One afternoon in Aljezur.