Sunday, December 28, 2008

if you were never aware of what was around you

One of my favorite poems by Kenneth Koch says:

In a poem, one line may hide another line,
As at a crossing, one train may hide another train.
That is, if you are waiting to cross
The tracks, wait to do it for one moment at
Least after the first train is gone. And so when you read
Wait until you have read the next line--
Then it is safe to go on reading.


In Buenos Aires, the traffic lights flash yellow before they turn green. When I first saw this, I thought it was brilliant. I figured portenos are more concerned with preparing themselves to go rather than to stop. I was wrong, of course. The traffic lights flash yellow before they turn green, but they flash yellow before they turn red as well. They have just covered all their bases. I guess Americans place more weight on stopping, which I suppose says something too.

*


It's hot and humid, but every so often, a breeze blows through the trees and so it does not seem so bad. I am not quite adjusted to the time, but jet lag just makes for lazy mornings right now, which is no tragedy, especially in Argentina. Hardly anything was open when I emerged from the hotel at 11:30 yesterday.

Tomorrow I leave for Iguazu Falls. The forecast is horrible, but I remain hopeful that I will get a decent view of the falls, however briefly. Right now, I should probably be more concerned that I have no place to stay once I get there. One of my travel companions is supposed to arrive today, so a part of me is quite inclined to just throwing my hands up in the air and passing the baton.

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