“THIRD DOOR DOWN” by Francisco Bravo Cabrera

          (Listening to Astor Piazzola: “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas”)
 
He told me it’s the third door down
the hall with the bad light,
“you’ll find the door unlocked,” he said,
“In fact, it’s never closed at night.”
And then he lit a cigarette,
a smile crossed through his lips,
a micro-second gesture
then he gestured for his tip.
 
I handed him ten dollars,
he blew smoke in my face,
“If you want to earn a trifle more
you’ll have to change your pace”
I whispered, as I walked away
towards the hallway with bad light.
I heard him mutter “cheap ass”,
I felt the urge to laugh.
 
The hallway was a dark and smelly
harbinger of misery,
I counted one, two, three and saw
the door, jet black, dark mystery,
and then I lit a cigarette,
a frown danced on my face,
a gesture for eternity,
sculpted, painted, etched.
 
The smell of alcohol, tobacco, sweat
rushed out, as I opened wide
the third door on this passage
dark and loud,
loud with the voice of loneliness,
loud with the complaints,
of millions that have died like this
forgotten in this place.
 
There’s no cure for being alone,
no drugs to calm the brain.
To be forgotten is a curse,
unbearable its pain.
Defeated is the soul, while
the body still remains,
the spirit lingers far above
the days are all the same.
 
He looked at me as I returned
“You didn’t dare step in”,
he said, he laughed, he shook his head,
“ten dollars, but a whim.”
I tried to hide a tear
but it rolled down instead,
“Don’t worry mate, I’ll toast his bread”,
as I slipped away he said.

Copyright © 30 January 2023 Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 
Valencia, España
All Rights Reserved

Francisco graduated from Florida International University (FIU) and began his career in the arts in Miami, Florida by opening his studio/gallery Omnia Caelum Studios Miami in 2003. His first professional exhibition was at PG Gallery in Istanbul, Turkey. From there he exhibited in Spain, New York and Florida, therefore he has exhibited professionally in North America, Europe and Asia. His paintings and drawings are in private collections all over the world. His work represents the results of his artistic quest to develop, without the need of a “style”, but with the need to communicate and to transmit a message of power and light to all. Now he operates his studio/gallery in Spain, renaming it Omnia Caelum Studios Valencia.