Elegy for the Matador

For theToreador . . . this is your reward

The Matador of Metaphor

The grapefruit in the tropical orchard
has ripened into a globe in Hartford
for him to look at, not to eat.
If he had a tin can, he would beat
it as a drummer in a band beats
his drum and steadily with a swish
and sometimes a gong. It’s his wish
to escape from gray walls and sky
into a Denmark of the inner eye
or a bullring south of the border
or a sky espied from the trenches
of a battlefield in Flanders. Wenches
wander into his wonderland. Order
is disorder squared. We are nowhere
else but here, yet live we do in metaphor
like that elegant square-shouldered matador.

-- DL

Depicted: Ava Gardner

Comments

[basketball stars]

A stunning examination of metaphor as escape! Contrasting the everyday with vivid, fantastical realms, the imagery inspires freedom and creativity. Despite life's turbulence, the matador symbolizes grace and defiance. Very intriguing!