Janela, by Meryl McQueen

Manueline-style window at Convent of Christ in Tomar, Portugal, by Diogo de Arruda (Portugal), 1510-1513.

Janela 

Farce begins at the base: broad shoulder
Mariner, sprung beard, soft braided cap
Over chin-length hair. He stares across
Bright Ribatejo meadows. Older
Than replanted pine forests, their sap
Dripping like tears, he’s an albatross

For what twists overhead: roots of cork
Oak gripped by rough hands. The architect
De Arruda carved the sea: coral
Wreath, kelp frill, half-heart shell. Mast rope’s torque
Strains as it ascends, buoyed to protect
The one-sided story, cool moral 

Code tucked beyond the peephole lattice
And armored emblem.  Artichoke crown
Tops open sail of trim caravels
In wild pursuit, an apparatus
Of heaven—armillary sphere—down
Wind from the Order’s stubborn Cross. Hell’s
Moss-wound breach: looking out or looking in?

Meryl McQueen

Meryl McQueen is a recent Seattle transplant with roots in South Africa, Italy, and Australia. Her work has appeared in Dunes Review, Crack the Spine, Ginosko, Phoebe,RiverSedge, Sugar House Review, Sanskrit Literary-Arts Review, and others. A tree-hugging polyglot, Meryl loves space science, big skies, and unrelenting rain.