“A Southern Colombian Odyssey” by Lorraine Caputo

(Popayán-El Cruce)
 
I.
White City valley
further below as we wind
into the mountains
swathed with thick copses. Folded
land narrowly terraced with
 
cattle trails. Hand-made
homes snuggle, their laundry strung
‘round edges of yards.
 
II.
Deeper into the
jungle-green sierra. Scattered
ranches, log-plank &
earthen cabins. Acres of
hothouse skeletons rotting,
 
their ragged plastic
shive’ring in the breeze. Along
a nascent river
 
tumbling ‘mongst boulders.
A woman on horseback, brow
& cheeks windburnt, red
poncho fluttering, looks down
at the calf trotting flank side.
  
III.
The land relaxes
to a valley, the deep-green
mountains hooded in
clouds. Fog swirls in wrinkles. The
air chiller. Low brush & long-
 
needled pines, bamboo,
ferns & mosses now bathed by
mist & fleeting sun.
 
IV.
Into thick forest,
endless to all horizons,
no soul seen. O’er a
deep gorge fracturing the earth,
frothing river far below.
 
V.
Sporadic signs of
civilization – rotting
fence posts with barbed wire,
 
rusting power line
poles, abandoned foundations,
stacked firewood, steps carved
up an embankment, tethered
mule in the brush, overgrown paths.
 
VI.
Again the log-plank
& earthen homes. Laundry hung
to dry. Chickens &
their brood peck in yards. Orchards
& arbors heavy with fruit.
 
Two small girls with plaid
uniforms & bookbags walk,
mud clinging to shoes.
 
Narrow terraces
of cattle trails weave across
the barren hills. &
jungle-camouflaged soldiers
guard this narrow, rutted road.
 
 VII:
Winding, winding down.
The still-hooded mountains deep-
green-blue, crumbling ‘round
 
us. Beyond flees the
sun. Through a shallow gorge far
below tumbles, froths
the nascent Magdalena.
 
& winding, winding … winding …


Copyright © 2024 Lorraine Caputo
All Rights Reserved

Lorraine Caputo is a documentary poet, translator and travel writer. Her works appear in over 400 journals on six continents; and 23 collections of poetry – including In the Jaguar Valley (dancing girl press, 2023). She also authors travel narratives, articles and guidebooks. Her writing has been nominated for the Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize. She journeys through Latin America, listening to the voices of the pueblos and Earth. You can follow Lorraine on her social media: Facebook, Instagram, and WordPress. You can find Lorraine on Facebook, Instagram, and WordPress.