Poetry – Rio – a homage to a city
Rio
To wander the streets of Rio in the rain as the heavy clouds create dreariness and humidity, is leaden and saps the soul. Sugar loaf and Copacavada are invisible enwrapped in cloud. ‘Christ the Redeemer’ appears for a minute or two and is then enveloped.
But the clouds disperse and the sun bursts through. Immediately the colours spring out and spirits rise. People are out in the streets preparing for carnival. The favelas have colour and are no longer slums. Sugar loaf and Copacavada are picturesque monuments of nature looking down on the thriving beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.
The crowds are out, beaches pack with football, volleyball and bronzed bodies. There is laughter, swagger and the pervading essence of samba.
A night, when the heat cools, the bars are filled with noise, bustle and beer – It jives.
Rio, like most cities, is a place of contrast. Beauty and garbage sit side by side. There are luxury apartments overlooking the beaches and mountains, and slums thrown up in shanty towns on hillsides of mud. But when the sun comes out and the colours kick in you can feel the energy. It is the carnival city.
Rio
In Rio
In summer
Under the clouds
As the redeemer remains shrouded
In thick fog
And even sugar loaf
Is stark and grey.
Above
A flock of frigate birds
Soar in spirals
Seeking the thermals
While sheerwaters skim the waves.
Then the sun
And colour
Changes
The beaches to yellow
The hills to green
And brings the favelas to life
Rio rocks
To the drumbeat of samba
The hip feel of carnival
The lightness of being
The gaiety of vitality
And beckons with adventure.
23.1.2016
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