At the Ermita de San Antonio de La Florida
In two bare hours before the heat
regroups the city’s sleepers enter
an atmosphere of paintings.
There dimensions are lost and found
and clouds become the tumbled linen
of sex workers posing as angels.
This cherub is reduced to an arse
in the shadows; that one stares
drunkenly at his splayed feet.
They cannot fall awake into
our world of mirrors and meaning
but whirl about in their cupola
in search of an exit. Señora frowns.
Her breathing deepens as the light
invents a motherly balustrade.
Will Eaves is a novelist, poet and musician. “The Point of Distraction” (TLS Books) and “Invasion of the Polyhedrons” (CB Editions) are both newly published
[See also: The NS Poem: Now]
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This article appears in the 23 Oct 2024 issue of the New Statesman, The crisis candidate