r i g h t  h a n d  p o i n t i n g

short fiction  short poetry  short commentary  short...uh..art
 

 

     
  Charles P. Ries

Plaza de Toros

 

 
The Matador handed me the bull’s severed ear,
a trophy of his victory and the bull’s predictable defeat.
He was called El Tiempo Grande.
They’d saved the biggest for last.

His ear filled my hand.
I raised it to the sky and the to the crowd
saluting El Toro’s rage and defeat
at the hands of Pablo Hermoso de Mendoza.

Pressing the bull’s ear to my own, I heard:
     the morning of his birth
     the pastures of Southern Mexico
     the blood as it seeped into the ground
     the last glimpse of the sun
     the tears as they cut his throat

As they dragged his carcass out of Plaza de Toros,
I saluted him again,
he who symbolized the burden of rage
and the insanity of being born a male.
 

 

 

 

Contributors
Table of Contents
Main Page

 

 

 

r i g h t  h a n d  p o i n t i n g 

 

All rights reserved. All poems, fiction, articles, essays, and artwork are the property of the authors and artists within, and as such, are protected by applicable U.S. and international copyright law. Copying or reprinting in any form is prohibited without the expressed permission of the author or artist.