This blog's title means "Cuban-hearted woman" (very loosely translated!). I settled on this name because it had a nice ring to my unschooled ear and, more importantly, because I think the Cuban people seem to have so much
heart, and they're in my heart for that reason. In general, the people I've met in Cuba are quite consistently open-hearted and big-hearted in the way they relate to each other or to visitors in their beautiful land. A piece of my heart now resides in Cuba, with the warm, wonderful friends I've made there. This blog is not intended to be a guide to Cuba, just a forum for my eclectic bits of writing – poetry, opinion pieces and information gleaned from my personal experience and reading.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

POEM: Amigo Bus by Shirley McCormick

For some time now, I have been meaning to post this poem, by my dear pal Shirley, who was part of my April 2011 group trip. However, this has been the busiest summer of my life and, now, I'm down to the wire. I'm leaving for Cuba in a few hours, where I'll be on the Amigo Bus once again!

The experience Shirley has so eloquently and elegantly captured is the roadside wait for the bus following a day at Cayo Blanco, one of the most popular daytrips offered at Club Amigo Marea del Portillo. For those who have yet to visit, the return bus typically picks you up at the edge of a farmer's field, whisking you back to the resort in air-conditioned comfort. However, there are occasions when there are too many "sun-red bodies" to fit in one bus!

Amigo Bus

By S. A. McCormick

Up the hill away from the sea we walk
Sun-baked turistas swaying to rhythmic heat

In Cuban time we wait for the bus to return
too late for cramming — we, the second round
— hats on faces, caked in salt and sweat
siesta sprawled, we rest upon the ground

Through the quiet, a brazen donkey brays
behind barbed wire. The bull noses the cow
and bellows for attention. Horses graze on
the dried blades of a too late rainy season

We hear the faint jangle of cattle bells
From a distance comes a clomp of cloven hooves
approaching at a trot along the road —
a throng of humped shoulders and curving horns

four cows and two frolicking calves
The farmer on his small horse trotting by
taps a lengthy switch upon the ground
He guides them past in unexpected haste

Their clanging bells in two-note song fade
in the horizon. We laugh and smile, recline
in shade under the prickly tree
feel the hot breezes flow
above our sun-red bodies


[For a full list of excursions and daytrips offered at Club Amigo Marea del Portillo, as well as a whole lot of other great information and photos, please visit the resort's newly launched website: http://marea.marea.co.cu]