kfg moore

Head High in the Baixa

I walked through Lisbon's Pombaline Baixa,
In shot-silk suits from Deco-rated spreads made,
A Dyonisian tremor to shake the logic
Of post-quake downtown quadrants
Old beyond my years,
But young in visible skin,
I hit on hollow history,
Shop-fronted into tawdry,
But eyes raised with hydraulic confidence,
To the level of the burgled-water dormers,
I saw that rationalism needs preserving,
By extravagant and sensual style,
And not the decaying force,
Of flea-bitten market monetary forces.
 
© kfg moore august 2001