Suppertime at Congress Bridge

Anticipation is
a long file of fidgeting
watchers waiting for
the concrete-clinging
humans to dissipate.
It is a mamma bat
willing away dirty orange
clouds, chewing dry air
as she tunes her call
to the beating
of moth wings.

Facade of the Mission Espada Chapel

Mission Espada Facade

My eye, being single, will
never picture the mission new.
The builders must have stacked
the stones already smoke-stained
and weather-beaten—plaster
laid porous and patchy
even before three centuries’
of hail and sand made
their offerings.
They did this to teach
each passing era’s children
how beauty is a perilous
grafted thing.
I bear you my testimony,
as a special witness,
it was always old.

Poet’s Note

The first image is of the Congress Bridge in Austin, Texas, where a large colony of bats resides during the summer.  Crowds gather every night hoping to watch the colony fly out and off in search of food.

The second image is of Mission Espada, part of the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.

For another travel-based poetry post, I invite you to read 5 Fragments from New York City  All images in this post are by Jake Christensen. Comments are welcome.