South America

Up in the sky’s expanse, true being, unborn, forever pure
Beautiful is the world below me — how many colors do I see?

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

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San Juan, Puerto Rico

The blue depths of the Gulf Stream
Meet aquamarine waters
A curving line in beautiful light,
The great reef vivid green
Stretches before our eyes
Varicolored tendrils reach
Fingerlike into solid ground

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Caripito, Venezuela

Caripito, Venezuela

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Caripito, Venezuela

Construction work shortens
The take-off distance,
Making the fuel load a bit difficult

I have never seen a jungle
Geography requiring the best equipment
And offering the slimmest chances

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Paramaribo, Suriname (610 miles)

Paramaribo, Suriname

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Paramaribo, Suriname
Descendents of escaped slaves
Glimpsed in the market place
Barter soft-shell turtle eggs
String beans eighteen inches long
Horned cucumbers and sapodillas


Fortaleza, Brazil

Fortaleza, Brazil


Fortaleza, Brazil

After ten hours I’m glad to see Fortazela
A potent metropolis
One of two cities in Brazil
Laid out with straight streets,
Just as it is according to the maps
Between the mountains and the sea
On a brown sandy plain
In the arc of a crescent shaped indentation

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Natal, Brazil

Natal, Brazil

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Natal, Brazil
The soil in this part of Brazil is red.
As many of the houses are built of adobe
A vivid touch of color
Green trees face a gray-green sea.
Beyond, the surf beats a stranded wreck