Oda
a la Bugambilia
by Karel Van Horn
Compañera flor,
by Karel Van Horn
Compañera flor,
eterna
amiga,
te amo—eres
bella,
democrática
y
fuerte.
Pequeña
selva
de
colores
inolvidables,
habitas
macetas,
paredes
y solares.
Acompañas
fielmente
a la
gente humilde,
en las
ventanas de sus chozas,
en
botes de café.
Festival
de luces,
cobija
viviente,
engalanas
las bardas
de los
pueblos olvidados.
Flor
del desierto,
¡cómo
te aguantas!
Creces
con más ganas
bajo
el sol abrazador.
Eterna
amiga mía,
no
dejes que te cambien,
te amo—eres
bella,
democrática
y fuerte.
Ode
to the Bougainvillea
by Karel Van Horn
by Karel Van Horn
Kindred
flower,
eternal
friend,
I
adore you, for you’re
beautiful,
communal
and
enduring.
Tiny
jungle
of
unforgettable hues,
you
live in clay pots,
on
village walls, in vacant lots.
Faithful
neighbor
to the
humble and the poor,
you’re
in windows of their shanties,
in old
tin coffee cans.
Festival
of lights,
blanket
full of blossoms,
you
brighten the ancient adobe
of
old, abandoned towns.
Flowering
desert vine,
how
you manage to survive!
You
thrive with so much gusto
under
the unforgiving sun.
Eternal
friend of mine,
don’t
ever change—ever.
I
adore you, for you’re
beautiful,
communal
and
enduring.
Bio: Karel
Van Horn, Beech Grove, received her undergrad degree from Purdue University and graduate
degrees from Ohio State University, specializing in Latin American literature.
She has lived in Mexico City and Hermosillo, Mexico, where she taught Latin
American literature at the University of Sonora. Once back in the U.S., she taught all levels of Spanish in Indianapolis Public Schools, where she developed a curriculum for Spanish for native speakers. Her poetic muses are social justice and Pablo Neruda.