Say, “I want to drink a beer,”
says the man in the speaker.
It is seven thirty in the morning,
and I have been practicing,
for twenty minutes, how to say
Jo quiero beber una cerveza,
only sometimes the man tells me
to ask for a cold beer, una cerveza fria.
And I do. I ask for un sandwich frio,
too, and repeatedly query, Quanto questa,
how much will it cost, or else I insist,
Hablo un poco de Español, or
No tengo mucho dinero,
I don’t have much money,
but mostly, the man
with the low, clear voice prompts me
to ask for beer. Cold beer. And though
the sun has just barely risen
over the mountain, and though
I only rarely drink beer,
and though I am sipping on a latte,
driving my children to school,
I find myself craving a cold,
cold beer, preferably with a lime,
preferably served on a beach
with a breeze, the sun a giant
glittering peso, the bottle slick
with its own cold sweat,
and some man I don’t see insists
in a low, clear voice, voy a pagar,
jo voy a pagar, I’m going to pay,
and in my perfect Pimsleur accent,
I say to him, gracias, señor, muchas gracias,
and sip my cold beer, waiting
for the next lesson.
nice one
Thank you … oh poor Mexico, my heart is aching for those in Mexico City
Yo quiero una cerveza frio, también.
Next time we’re at La Cocina, your beer will be on me. Reckon, though, we’ll have to mosey to the San Miguel in hopes of any beach.
Yes and ahhhh—the things that take us away, at least in our minds.
Apologies to James Taylor, “In my mind I’m going to Padre Island…”
Muchas gracias, amigo mio â¦
Watch my TEDx talk The Art of Changing Metaphors: TEDX Rosemerry Trommer
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
970-729-1838
wordwoman.com
From: “comment-reply@wordpress.com” Reply-To: Date: Thursday, September 21, 2017 at 12:32 PM To: Rosemerry Trommer Subject: [A Hundred Falling Veils] Comment: “Listen and Repeat”
Ahhhh… every time I’m in Mexico I have the urge to drink a cold beer at 10:30am – I don’t know why – but I always oblige myself
Bueno, amigo