El Jaleo by Robbi Nester

El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent, 1882.

El Jaleo

I’ve been to this party, where the men
stroke the strings of sad guitars,
hiding their faces beneath broad-brimmed
hats, melancholy and preoccupied,
 
while on the other side of the room,
the women sway in their seats,
drawn by the dance, the dancer.
Their faces shimmer in the half-light,
a field of poppies, and the dancer,
goddess in white, frothy black mantilla
draped over her shoulders, turns toward
the eager women, tosses them a rose.

Robbi Nester

Robbi Nester is the author of an ekphrastic chapbook titled Balance (White Violet, 2012) and other poetry collections. Her work has been published widely in journals and anthologies, including Cimarron Review, Broadsided, Silver Birch Press, Poemeleon, and Inlandia.

This poem was written as part of the ekphrastic 20 Poem Challenge.