Algarvia
It was somewhere between
Villa Paradaria
and the Taberna Tres Dukes
that I somehow
lost count of the number
of stockings
and sun-bleached torn ribbon
all strung out in rows
both above and across the old
narrow streets
that which make up
The Fisherman’s quarter
just off Ferragudo ..
Yes there, where the sidewalks
are still liberally strewn
with discarded oyster shells,
pieces of roughly hewn cork
and fishing nets
drying against the sides of these
small upturned
and seemingly resting,
blue and white sailboats
the locals here, are all known for ..
And, where in those
moments occasionally lost when
nothing else matters
between my strong black coffee
and medronho shots ..
I have, now and then been known
to worry and wonder ..
Do the resident ghosts here each
still cast their shadows all be it
now ever so lightly ..
Because I swear, I caught sight of
her earlier ..
In a roadside café
with a Portuguese sailor
where they were picking over
the bones of grilled fresh sardinhas
and sipping green wine
from an old earthenware cup,
which the locals all call Vinho Verde ..
So yes, my dear friend,
it is shamefully true, I must now
confess, it was indeed there
where I last mouthed her name ..
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Comments7
You are back, Nev! That’s a relief! Thought you might have succumbed to long covid or summat.
Instead you were off to exotic places….. Never been there, but the richness of your lines took me; your last three lines……… there I have been, so thanks…maybe! 🙂
Yes, I'm back but buggared .. well not in the literal sense & off to bed for a kip .. Ta for noticing Dave 🙂
Wow what a scene: fish nets, stockings, fisher-folk and sardines. Must've been momentarily bewildering.
You could say the whole affair was bewildering .. So much so I declined to write about my past in the Algarve for many years, but my most recent spell there brought a whole lot back for me .. We shall have to wait and see whether I ever feel better for it .. Kind Regards,
Neville
That where ya been? I remember meeting her in............!
She was indeed an ex lover of mine .. I got a postcard from her brother about a year after we went our separate ways .. Apparently she drowned, not in the Algarve where we once spent a lot of time, but still in Portugal nevertheless .. My recent visit brought back a lot of memories ......... Neville 🙂
Sorry about that.
Loving the way your lines took this reader to where time must stand still and old customs still matter - - and also where romance once blossomed and then left a memory - - I can just see you peering at a face half remembered dear Nev - -- so good to see you and your alluring work back again..........x
I just got back from a place I was so very many moons ago Fay .. thank you my lovely for making the effort worthwhile .. x
As I read, I'm drawn into this story. With all of the rich imagery I can see you sitting there, feel the emotion, it is that tangible. There is something wonderfully Hemingwayesque in those last lines. A truly remarkable write dear friend, and so bittersweet.
Many of my most grateful thanks are heading your way my friend .. Thank you so very much for your encouraging appraisal of my most recent post .. Tis indeed good to be back 🙂
What can I say that others have not already said, but still, memory lanes are forever etched on our minds, which are brought back to visions when invoked by picturesque venues and romanticized by such poetic words.
You my friend, are always far too kind, but each of your visits are so very much appreciated and of course, always welcome .. Neville
this could be a chapter from a Mark Twain travel diary book
I just really enjoyed your enticing flow and pacing
was such a vivid read
effortlessly intimate and rewardingly romantic...
a Great write, dear Poet supreme!
thank you
thank you so much my friend
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