The hummingbird evokes ripples

In still black waters of Tabuleiro

Fluttering her wings,

Weathered orange cliff walls 

Merge boundaries

Blending their image

On the expanding gentle waves.

Her wings skim the surface 

To blend 

With the soft fluid metal

Propagating streaks to trail

As drops capturing the blue sky

Let go of her feathers,

And the sky joins in

To reflect its own 

On those dark waters.

Her smile draws in

The red hibisco do mato 

Embracing the cliff rocks,

With it, the flower brings 

The sounds of the gorge in resonance

As it settles below her,

Small quivers of music emerge from it

Tessellate with the ones she formed.

With the beak now in the flower 

She draws the black water 

Turning the world around her

Into burgundy and indigo.

She greets her people,

Their spirited smiles 

Echo the walls of the canyons

Weaving music, flower, water, and

Reflection with the sky.

The interleave of dimensions

Reverberates through my mind 

Bringing me 

To the flooded forests of Tahuayo — 

He stood on the edge of the canoe

Holding a red paddle 

That he had carved and stained,

Proudly, with both hands 

That early misty morning.