Captain’s Log:
Day 3 on Iberian Peninsula
surveying Alavesa vista
vital atop rocky hill
La Guardians
seem afraid of valley below —
warding off invading warriors
with strings of red phallic fruit
theirs is bigger than theirs
paprika dusted on the breeze
hotter than sun-seared cobblestones
warriors of the lowlands
seem to have an antidote
drinking down draughts
casks of fermented grapes
kept in dank troglodytic spaces
drunk out of their feet
maintaining merriment
but too tired to mount
the steepness of the town
a detente defines
upward and downward stares
sun-dried foodies
pintxos eat
watching over
bodegas sleep.

∞

Submitted as part of “National Poetry Writing Month – 2017” (#NaPoWriMo2017). Today’s prompt: I’d like to challenge you to answer that question in poetic form, exploring a particular object or place from the point of view of some far-off, future scientist? What would future archaeologists, whether human or from alien civilization, make of us?