Joana your name is red
And sharp like a Toledo blade
Your long skirt makes the wind twirl
On a summer evening walk
By the side of the sea
Calling for breeze
Joana your walk wants to turn into dance
At the sound of your laughter
Your words into chocolate and mangoes
And a whole tropical forest could grow
Under the rain of your love
So love Joana for the joy of this world
As if ships carrying spices
Had finally come to port
Joana your name is red
And sharp like a Toledo blade
Your long skirt makes the wind twirl
On a summer evening walk
By the side of the sea
Calling for breeze
Joana your walk wants to turn into dance
At the sound of your laughter
Your words into chocolate and mangoes
And a whole tropical forest could grow
Under the rain of your love
So love Joana for the joy of this world
Like the ships carrying wonder
Have finally come to the port
The bus will reward you
With a tight company of people,
Short-range and short-term interactions,
And the occasional verbal explosion
When crossing a hole or bump
Or a difficult border.
The lights and the stops,
The necessary and long-awaited
Bathroom stops,
Mark the trip’s regular flow
And highlights:
Sandwiches and sodas,
The coffee the driver needs
To keep up his eyelids.
The songs undulate
With the road,
Their loud melodrama
Becoming the soundtrack
Of this temporary company,
Long after we have forgotten
The border cops,
Their stressful tricks,
The fears.
And we laugh
At the swear words
As the driver moves forward,
Piercing the night.
And we wake up
To light,
To the expectation of oranges,
The familiar road dust,
The road lying mellow
Through olive orchards
white buildings and rocks
Nathaniel your name
Sounds mellow and soft
Smells like sandalwood and musk
And just a little cigarette smoke
Nathaniel but your name
Rides on a Harley
And flies a red and yellow bandana
In the burning summer wind
I find no way to thank you
For the quiet bravery
To do the right thing
No matter the cost
Your smile Nathaniel
Melts icebergs
But your laughter causes avalanches
So your walk is restrained
As you walk through the gardens of Eden
So you push through the tempting desert
You think the millions of flowers
hiding under the sand
Remember, Nathaniel, if you cry,
these tears hold the promise
of saving rain
and restoring the balance.
