Seated in the Courtyard in the Alhambra

From A FAR ROCKAWAY OF THE HEART

#76 Seated in the Courtyard in the Alhambra

by Lawrence Ferlinghetti


In the gardens of the Alhambra
I stole a small orange and ate it
The pulp dry and bitter
and the juice
(acrid as an arab driven from his land)
made a desert of my mouth
and shriveled up my tongue
in the Sultan's last revenge
And I fell upon the ground
in a deep swoon
Deep as the duende
in a gypsy's keening