Hundreds of words... agosto

HUNDREDS OF WORDS... AGOSTO 2014

Ask for directions. On public transport. Everyone listens. Always someone. Going the same place.

Photocopy machines. Long extension cables. Footpath offices.

Mango street. Has mangos. Plum Street. Plums. Every street. Has its fruits.

Taxi driver plays. Farewell songs. Upbeat salsas. And a melancholic ballad.

Joke with bus driver. About vomiting children. Sitting behind us. A child screams. And vomits.No joke.

Oral hygiene salesman. Begins his pitch. Extends verbal hug. To those listening. I open my arms. And embrace him. Before he continued.

Post sales. He thanked me. Turns out. He had also been robbed.At gunpoint. On a bus.

Nos vemos en Ambato. Sin zapatos.

First taxi. Says no. And all the rest. Said no too. Then the rain fell. And one said yes.

Follow yellow. To cold vegetarian lunch.Everyone else. Ate yoghurt.

Sunday streets. Breakfast hunting. Leads to park. Which led to. Graffiti stairwells. Unexpected museums. And llamas.

Sit beside llama. It squeals. Lips sealed. Back of throat. Soothing.

Lamp post. Full of bees. Smelled like honey.

Bubble salesman. Harassed by police. After the children play.

Thousand dollar reward. For lost dog.

Get verbally apprehended. By recorded voice.

Sit in girl’s hammock. And get no imaginary food.

Pizza maker. Spun rags on finger. Wanted to swap hats.

Friend of a friend. Much talked about. Staying in same hotel. In the room in front. Our courses collide.

He likes observing. The different display forms.Of fruit.And vegetable.Stalls.

Hot chocolate. Grab banana off bunch.Pick some corn tortillas.

Watch lady empty.Garbage bag of beans. Into big pot. Simmering on stove.

Kids playing. Adult card games. Like kids.

Panama hat. Is Ecuadorian. Exported to world. From Panamanian canal.

Three farewells. Living room. Door. And door again.

Had I said yes. Instead of no. Who knows the difference?

Hotel hot showers. Longer than usual.

Uppity antique salesman.Trapped amidst trash.

Has nothing.

Another tells me. Someone else asked.

For knives. And masks.

And another. Was more antique. Than her antiquities.

Ask a ute. Waiting at traffic light. For a ten block ride.

Says to jump in.

Teach empanada salesman.Glass of water.

In microwave trick. For no floppy pastry.

Fix suitcase wheel. With Renata´s small hands.Then find scattered screws.

Mysterious.

Guy pays bus driver cash.Sleeps in aisle. Stretched out.

Drink religious water. Las carmelitas.

Looks like pink cordial.Tastes like petals. Sleep peacefully.

All night long.

Twenty dollar bills. Striped with magic marker.Lose value in Peru.

Always turn wrong way.And get lost. Before finding.Vegetarian restaurant. Homeless man chants. But not Hari Krishna. Fills his cupped palms.With mixed nuts.

Girl from Holanda (Holland). Not from Orlando. Listens patiently. To lonely Gringo. At the bar.

Peruvian public toilet attendant. Exaggeratedly generous.

With toilet paper.

Man with no arm. Or legs.

Lying on a bed. In busy street.

Begging.

Confide my trust. In wheelchair bound.

Dollar exchanger.

Nod off. Watching friend´s daughter.

Sing on youtube.

Talk with friends parents. Comparing prices.

Of all the countries.

Ecuadorian ant. Discovered in luggage. Resuscitates. In Peruvian bedroom.

Huancaina sauce. Biscuit. Sauteed chiles. Milk. And cheese. Blended.

Cook corn. With aniseed teabags.Brings out sweetness.

Cobbler. Jots down the job. And price. On sole of broken shoe.

Birds sing. In exchange. For flowers.

Meet inventor. Skateboard with cord. Replace the push. With a pull.

Shadows. Flicker. Transform. Disappear.

Queue as long as bus. To buy bus ticket.

Lady sitting on pavement.Head resting on her rubbish. Asleep. Dreaming.

Military guard. Cell phone in one hand. Machine gun in the other. Danger. In case of confusion.

Woman. Dog. Bag. Duel.

I need you. I love you. Forever. And ever. Taxi driver English. Learned from radio.

Colourful roadside gravestones. Crooked crosses. Cows.

Cholitas with bags. Sitting on anything. But chairs.

Still sand. Shoveled into. Spinning holes.

Shiny sun.Icy air. Sunglasses. And beanies.

Names. Numbers. Logos. Painted loudly. On silent walls.

Trust the sandal. The recycled tire.

The people are outdoors. And working.

Death in food. Death on film. Deathinitely influential.

Rocks. Waiting motionlessly. To be moved. Eventually. Wherever. Like soldiers. At attention.

So much space. So little movement.

Sweat. Socks. Sick. Shit. And shame. Stenches strongly. On overnight bus rides.

Reach destination. Run for toilet.

No guard. Choose the ladies.

Pack of dogs. On garbage piles.

Foraging before the fire.

Missed turns. Turn into.

New adventures.

Shoe shine kids. Collapsed in front of. The house of change.

Little sugar. Giant soft hands.

Plays puppetry tributes. To Bob Marley.

Asks me. How to blow.

Them gigantic bubbles.

Sort through donations. Keep a petrol workers.

Denim jacket. Pays dividends.

Bemused by.Money invested.

Creating glossy documents. On third world poverty.

The sixth floor got finished.Before fifth.

Fourth. And third.

Ten minutes of cold water.Down the drain.

Before hot water.Awakes.

Watch El Alto. Reflected in. Tinted windows.

Mini vans. Push through the streets.Honking their horns.

Televisions. Playing pirated dvd´s. In the street. Before curious onlookers.

Listen to Bolivian folklore.Too much to remember.

Smell burning coal. Fried chicken. And urine in corners.

People smile. At my hat.

I smile back. And we laugh.

Suitcase wheels. On cobbled streets.

Flocks of pigeons. Taking flight.

Silence the city. With their sound.

Altiplano fat lip. Boxed by wind.

And sun.

Origami samurais. Folding.

Creasing. Flipping.

And bending. To Vanessa Mae.

Salesman pitch. 108 forms.

Eye. Earth. Tunnel. Time.

Sold to awed listeners.

Catapult potatoes.With spatula.

Fling oven mitts. Then make an omelet.

Superhero kitchen warrior.

Wrap up in bed sheet. Unwrap like tornado.

Wuuuuuuu.

Sugar on the fire. Petals.

Cigarettes. And coca leaves too.

Wishes go up. In smoke.

Angry bag of bread. Explodes.

Crumbs everywhere. Broken crusts.

Alone.

Put all hat money. In beggars hat.

Spent.

Big comfy bus. No heating. Frozen feet. Never slept.

Travelers home. Amazing museum.

Every wall. And shelf.

Tells a story.

Abattoir. Becomes Artatoir.

Dog bites. My woolen clothes.

No cement. No Christ.

Why not a giant cholita?

Blues leaves. Green leaves. Leaves them.

Yellow.

Hand drawn map. A squiggly snake.

If we get lost. Just come back.

Zig zag up. And at the top. Find the ruins. Of an impossible town.

Wind ringing in ears. Lake reflecting in eyes. Mountains protecting round edges. While we build a fire.

Smoke goes up. Snow falls down. Smoke in eyes. Turns into tears.

August. The earth is open. To give. And receive. Cats. Are horny.

Take wrong turn. Everybody knew. Nobody spoke. End up home. And that’s what mattered.

Bridges. Buses. Bolivian blockades. Just rumours.

See how the people. Marching. Chanting.

With feet. And soul.

Brings change.

Silence is. An x-ray. Of the moon.

Open books. And sneeze.

Little girl. Dad´s cell phone. Same song. Over and over.

Luggage clerk asks. What my hat means.

Therapists. Have problems too.

Ice cream for dinner. Ice cream for lunch. Don´t scream. For breakfast.

Abandoned baby. Draws crowd. After crowd.

Authorities arrive last. At last.

Dusty bridge. Kids playing in drain.

Parents blistered palms. Shoveling.

And cupped for support.

Sit on bench. Let butterflies sell.

Juan Carlos sat down. Told us stories.

Kept his memories alive. Through us. Strangers.

You need muscles. To play chess.

He lost. All the same.

No sleep. For campaigning senators She dreams. To ride her bike. To work.

Hear confession. In restaurant. I never drink tamarindo.Because it’s rolled into balls.By indigenous hands.

It´s that way. They say simultaneously.Pointing in opposite directions.

Photograph through dirty windows. Leave camera in taxi. Sprint around town. To retrieve it.

Buy cheese. For mistaken price.

Then pay. The real price.

Really.

The room fits barely. Around the bed.

No where to go. Takes us up hills.

Onto rocks. Below eagles.

And to homemade bread.

Town gardener. Laughs out loud.

When he sees the statue. With a beanie.

No Yapa. For my miserable purchase.

Sign prohibits littering. And doing ones necessities.

Dogs are bearably unbearable.

Retrace steps. With new arrival. The dog that barked yesterday. Now accompanies our adventure.We call him Tuanis.

Give Renata half a rock. With sparkles. She stumbles on the other half. With sparkles.

Lie on rocks. Watch birds. From a human eyes view.

Nobody will break my note. Ask a braked car. And he breaks it.

Lucky break.

The smell of bread. Sells itself.

Alarm clock. Early rise.

No gas. No hot shower. No breakfast.

Change gas bottle. Don´t close valve. Morning mayhem.

Gas bottle empty. Guilty feeling full.

Buy bag of coca. And half a stick of stevia. In green plastic bag.

Chauffer won´t let dog on bus. Owners find last minute box. Poke holes in it.And ship the puppy. With the luggage.

Back row. Window seat. Carefully select. And remove stems. From coca leaves.

Chew the ball. View the whole. Let it all. Flood in.

Bus hugs cliff faces. Honking long and loud.

Lose window seat. When dusty roads begin.

Every time bus braked. Eyes. Ears.

And Nostrils. Vacuumed in the dust.

Punishment for urinating in garden. Escorted to toilet.

Bring water to boil. And gas runs out. Oh the karma.

Carefully unscrew tank. Carry it on shoulders. Two blocks. To depot. And home again.

Return to street. Ask construction workers. How to remove red knob. Jammed in valve. Butter knife solution.

No towel. Denim. Nor oven mitt. Could loosen the tap.

Simple errands. Lead to discovery. Of new streets. And neighbours.

All appropriate clothes. Drying on clothesline. Hit the streets. In Bermuda shorts. Thongs. And a cardigan.

Hija La Perra died. Weird when people die. And I am far away. The distance. Or my absence. Makes it less real.

Hitch ride. With removal van.

Guy tells me. When the rain drops bounce.

It will rain all day. And it did.

Man. When he began.

Could barely buy pan (bread). Now he can buy.

All the pan he wants.

Cholitas. Hats safe.

On their heads. Inside plastic bags.

Scare thieves. Hanging from lampposts.

And bridges.

Couple of strangers. Drive us to main road.

Talk about the weather.

A glove. Making the peace sign.

Driven into the road.

Mud. Puddles.

And a market. On the edges.

Man with no hands. Begging with his wrists.

No way to win. Kid’s don´t lose.

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