Mariachis of Garibaldi

Photograph via Flickr by Héctor Gómez Herrero

Tarnished brass trumpets,
guitarrónes and violins strain

to reconcile. The moon hides
behind a smog-tired sky.

Packs of wolves, sleek black
with silver trim show off

sombreros, suits and such
displays of tenderness!

Young couples embrace
on iron benches,

and old couples,
not speaking, walk away.

Debka Colson writes fiction, poetry and nonfiction. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Open to Interpretation: Fading Light, Roar Magazine, North American Review, Poetry Cram 11, Maine Progressive, NEWN, and Quaker Action, among others. She is the Ivan Gold Fiction Fellow for 2013, awarded for her novel-in-progress by the Writers' Room of Boston. "Writing & Wanderlust" (incorporating both writing and photography) are the themes of her blog 'HomenDunRoamin' which can be found on WordPress.com. Debka currently teaches creative writing to undergraduates at Emerson College and to adults through the Boston Public Library. She lives in Jamaica Plain, MA.