PAUL HERTELENDY

A POET'S ADVENTURES FROM THE WILD SAVANNA OF BRAZIL’S SOUTHLAND

EDITOR'S NOTE: Paul Hertelendy recently trekked
into the wilderness of Brazil's Mato Grosso de Sul.
His new poems, sent to us from the road
document his travels.

LAND OF WONDROUS MARVELS

I see the cuckoo without clock, And priceless birds´ nests built like beehive ovens, And a flock of parakeets without their cages, And a fox that feasts on crabs, And giant river otters that will never go to sea. I witness parrots and macaws That mate for life and fly about in pairs. Even fearsome jaguar carnivore Will kill a cow And eat it, bones and all, Most gracious heeding every mom’s advice To clean the plate. You’re safe--neither ’gators nor piranhas will attack you. And, I’m glad to say, the countless storks in this locale Are not the medium of human reproduction. Somewhere in between imagined heaven and an Eden, Lands like this get wrapped around your heart. Some one will have to haul me homeward bound some day On roads left grooved by deep-imbedded tracks Left by my desperate fingernails and shoe toes dragged As testament of consummate conversion. ---Pantanal, southern Brazil

©2005 by Paul Hertelendy. The illustrations are from IMSI's Master Clips Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., San Rafael, CA, 94901-5506, USA.
This column first posted July 4, 2005.
Paul Hertelendy is a critic with the San Francisco Bay Area arts website www.artssf.com. To visit his website, click here: PAUL

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