Everybody’s Smiling in Spain: Children, old men, Gossips at portals, Lovers entwined -Two-headed flamingos- See themselves smiling In each other’s eyes. Everybody’s Smiling in Spain: Widows in black, Ossified bundles On park benches Smile; Peasants, splay-footed, On cathedral steps Smile; Waiters taking orders Are smiling importantly; Shopkeepers, tourists, Bureaucrats and babes Smile for the camera, For papá y mamá, Smile and smile and smile. I dip my spoon And smile Into my coffee cup. The boy serving me Smiles back Uncertainly. The girls beside me Smile knowingly, As around the bar And into the mirror I look. From my lips The glimmer of a smile Evaporates mysteriously. Stirring my coffee Round and round Slowly, I remember someone, Then sip.Plaza Virgen, Valencia 13 viii 86